9-year-old allegedly ordered to clean SC school bathroom with toothbrush as punishment
A 9-year-old South Carolina student was forced to clean a school bathroom with a toothbrush because she put too much toilet paper in a commode, according to allegations made at a school board meeting Monday.
The incident allegedly happened Oct. 19 at Jefferson Elementary School in the Chesterfield County School District after the student admitted to stuffing too much toilet paper in the toilet, according to several people who identified themselves as family members who spoke at the meeting. The State reviewed a video recording of the meeting posted on YouTube.
“Of course she knows better. She got her recess taken away from her. All well and good; this should have happened,” said a woman who identified herself as the child’s great grandmother. “But when she returns to school on Tuesday, the principal gives her a toothbrush and cleaning supplies to clean the floor.”
“I just find it so belittling to a child to do such a thing,” the woman said.
In response, a school board member from off camera said, “This issue has been addressed by the administration in a manner that the administration believes to be appropriate.”
It’s unclear what punishment, if any, responsible district employees received. A speaker who said she was the student’s great grandmother said school principal Andrea Garrison assigned the punishment. Garrison is still employed by the district, according to the district’s website.
The State reached out to Garrison on Wednesday morning, but a receptionist said she was not in.
“The district is aware and this is being handled as an internal personnel matter of which we can not discuss further,” district spokesman Ken Buck said.
Another public speaker, who did not say whether he was related to the student, said the punishment could damage the child’s mental health.
“This is a very terrible example for someone in our education institution to set for a child,” the speaker said. “This is detrimental to the child’s mental and psychological state.”
James Barber, the president of the Chesterfield County NAACP, spoke during the meeting and said the incident needs to be “respectfully scrutinized,” and called on the board to take “quick and decisive action.”
“We need to understand who voted for what if this person is not dismissed,” Barber said.
The student’s grandfather said the incident, which required a young Black student to do manual labor, carried racial overtones. Garrison is white.
“What has been done to my granddaughter, I am a broken man. You didn’t break her, because I will not let her fall, but you have broken me. You have hurt me to my heart,” the speaker said.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 9:50 AM.