NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County school officials confirm police are investigating allegations a former teacher abused a student with special needs.
Ignacio Barquera's son, Stefano, is a junior at Milton High School. Barquera told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik his son, who has autism and other special needs, told him that the former teacher had hit him in the head.
“The assistant principal from Milton High called my wife and left her a voicemail saying his current teacher was under investigation for an incident,” he said. “This teacher was resigning for whatever reason, but she told us she was abusing my son and she was under investigation for another kid being physically abused in the same class.”
Petchenik reached out to Fulton County school officials about the allegations, and received an e-mailed statement from spokeswoman, Susan Hale:
"An HR investigation was launched (per our protocol any time there is an abuse allegation) but that it was inconclusive. HR turned the file over to our School Police, which has opened an investigation but has not concluded it. Information also was referred to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission for their investigation."
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Barquera leveled similar allegations last summer when his son was attending Roswell High School. At the time, school officials told Petchenik they had launched a similar investigation but no charges were ever filed.
This time around, Barquera said he was hopeful the district would complete a thorough investigation.
“I just hope people are more aware of what’s happening, even a small detail they can miss and that the school system can do the right thing and prosecute this teacher,” he said.
Channel 2 Action News is not naming the teacher because she’s not currently facing any formal charges.
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