A local group called Racial Justice NOW has raised concerns about the incident, which recently came to light, and has protested at the school and at school board meetings. Organization director Hashim Jabar said the group believes placing a young child in handcuffs causes emotional trauma and sends a wrong message.
He said the group also believes the district is not addressing their concerns.
Members of the group were present Tuesday night at a school board work session on the issue.
Ty Alston, who identified himself as the group’s organizer, said he was disappointed.
“We asked for a policy change or at least a discussion on policy on handcuffing of elementary school students, but that couldn’t even be done,” he said.
The organization has talked about pushing for a protocol that involves using something called a “sensory room,” where children with behavioral problems or who pose behavioral issues are taken to calm them, rather than having a SRO use handcuffs on young children.
“We will continue to push,” Alston said.
