MONROE, Utah (KUTV) — Two Sevier County parents are fighting to release a video of a student being disciplined for excessive physical activity at South Sevier Middle School.
On November 21, 2022, Jared and Shana Kumar’s daughter returned home from school sick and injured.
“The aide told them that because a sign had been broken in the boys’ locker room, the entire sixth-grade class would be punished that day on Tolerance Day,” said the student, whose daughter was a sixth-grader at South School. Shana Kumar said. Sevier Junior High School at the time. “It was her (my daughter) who said, ‘I did 400 push-ups at the gym today,’ and she was feeling nauseous and sick. She was also having pain in her chest, and she was having trouble breathing at the end. And I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain, like muscle pain, like I couldn’t move my arms.”
The Kumars immediately contacted the school to investigate what happened.
“We just want parents to know what’s going on with their kids,” Jared Comer said. “And we want our children to know that what was done to them was wrong, that their rights were violated.”
According to the Kumars, students are given the option by teaching assistants in physical education class to have an “endurance day” between pre-arranged exercises or to do a different series of exercises at the assistant’s discretion. It is said that he was given After learning that the first exercise involved a ladder, students chose the second option.
“In this practice, I had my 20-year-old do a set of push-ups, my 19-year-old sprint around the gym, and my 18-year-old sprint around the gym,” Shanna Kumar said. “I did a total of 405 push-ups and 34 gym-length wind sprints in 30 minutes.”
Kumar and others allege that the teacher’s assistant pointed to the trash can and told the class that a student in the previous class had vomited during an exercise.
Documents show South Sevier Middle School and the Sevier School District investigated. Approximately two weeks later, the school announced that “days of patience will no longer be held,” as stated in a letter sent to parents and students of middle school students on Dec. 7, 2022.
The letter does not detail what happened in physical education class on Nov. 21, 2022.
“‘Endurance Days’ was at times a punishment program,” Jared Kumar said. “This event is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The Sevier School District released a statement regarding KUTV and Endurance Day.
“The Sevier School District takes parental concerns and student safety seriously. After being notified of parental concerns regarding Patience Day in November 2022, the district reviewed its curriculum and implemented Patience Day. As a school district, we are committed to continually reviewing and updating our curriculum to provide the best possible education for our students. ”
On the same day, the district superintendent wrote a letter to the middle school principal regarding a formal investigation, stating that it had received “submissions from parents regarding corporal punishment that occurred between November 21 and 22, 2022, and a possible pattern of corporal punishment found in physical education. “Relating to a formal complaint.” Historically, it is a class. ”
In the letter, the recommendations the district made included:
- “Completely abolish ‘Endurance Day’ in the SSMS Physical Education Department. In addition to eliminating any use of exercise as a punishment, we are also required to eliminate the negative connotations associated with Endurance Day at South Sevier Middle School.” Masu.”
- Requires school principals to meet regularly with the physical education department and provide instructions to teachers on providing a positive environment during physical education activities.
- Principal needs counseling **REDACTED** Teachers work on improving their attitudes towards students to build positive perceptions.
- “Corporal punishment is not required under any circumstances in SSMS, including in the physical education department. SSMS teachers will not intentionally inflict physical pain on students as a disciplinary measure.”
- The principal issues a written warning to the teacher’s assistant for the teacher’s violation of Sevier School District Policy #2225 4.1.8: “Unprofessional conduct unbecoming or unbecoming of a District employee, including violation of ethical standards.” demanded that it be released. moral or professional conduct; ”
“So corporal punishment is illegal in Utah, according to the law,” Jared Comer said. “Considering how our family has been treated in this situation, it doesn’t seem like much is going on.”
After hiring an attorney, the Kumars viewed surveillance video of the incident at the gymnasium on Nov. 21, 2022.
“That’s what my daughter said,” Shana Kumar said. “There’s an aide pointing at the trash can. The teacher and the district nurse are there the whole time, just talking to each other and not paying attention to the students. The aides themselves aren’t paying attention to them. There are students who are struggling, students who are hurt, and students who are just trying to find rest. They are trying to find a wall. Just lying on the ground.”
The students were given time to rehydrate, but the Kumars said they were not given hydration until they had completed more than 200 push-ups.
“I think this has a broader application. When you punish someone for exercise, it hurts them and it hurts them,” Jared Comer said. “Additionally, we would like to see full transparency from parents and students regarding all of the district’s findings regarding patience days used as a disciplinary tool over the past several years.”
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