The 7th grade boy's punishment is a month at Klein ISD's disciplinary alternative education program. His violation was urinating in a water bottle in class after the teacher had told him he couldn't go to the bathroom. The boy's parents and their lawyer say the punishment was over the top.
Bill Hawkins, the family's attorney, said, "She gets so tired of him asking she tells him if he asks again she's going to write him up. If he leaves the classroom she'll write him up for truancy and she hopes he pees in his pants."
After the teacher refused to let him take a bathroom break, the 7th grader apparently wiggled the water bottle up a pants leg and took care of his business. He then slowly lowered the water bottle, capped it and put it in his pocket. The teacher figured it out when the bottle fell out of his pocket a few minutes later.
Hawkins says the family doesn't want to be identified, and doesn't want any more embarrassment over the incident.
"They feel like the punishment is totally out of proportion to what the boy would have done if it were not for the teacher's conduct," he explained.
The district had only this to say: "Klein ISD must follow proper protocol when dealing with disciplinary matters for all students and the information must be kept confidential. The same is true for matters involving employees."
But the boy's parents fear one month in alternative education will make him lose his place in his pre-Advancement Placement classes.
"Basically, it impacts your ability to get into certain colleges," Hawkins said.
We are told that on Wednesday the boy's parents will appeal the principal's decision to the district. However, a decision is not expected immediately. In the meantime, the boy is spending his days in in-school suspension.
The student has had one brush with discipline this school year. When a substitute teacher in that same class refused to let him go to the bathroom in the fall, the boy apparently went anyway. The family's lawyer says the principal overturned any discipline in that case.
