Savannah father says autistic son was placed in box at school

The 11-year-old hasn't been back to Heard Elementary since the incident

The 11-year-old hasn't been back to Heard Elementary since the incident

The 11-year-old hasn't been back to Heard Elementary since the incident

The father of an 11-year-old autistic boy is outraged after he learned his son was kept in an enclosure while at Virginia Heard Elementary in Savannah.

This all happened back in November. Christopher Thompson says he got a call from his son's teacher saying the boy was having a meltdown. When he got to the school, Thompson found his son inside what he calls a plywood box, about the size of a telephone booth.

“His teacher walked me down to the classroom, and they said, 'He was in the cool down box.' My son was yelling and screaming to the top of his lungs, but I didn't see where he was at,” Thompson told WJCL 22. “He was in this box, a plywood box, that they made. And this guy was holding the box shut.”

Thompson has chosen to keep his son home from school since the November 2024 incident.

“Not only is it evil to do a kid like that, you took advantage of a child, you abused the child. That's something you don't do. And you call yourself the special needs teacher, who works around these kids? I would tell you, you don't need to work around kids anymore. You need to evaluate yourself,” Thompson said.

“This does shock the conscious as this was a teacher who was trained and was supposed to be protecting these children,” attorney Roland Mumford, who is representing the Thompson family, said.

Mumford said he plans to sue Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and the teachers responsible.

“This was an enclosure of some form, some dimension and size that the child could not remove themselves. That has to be an absolute violation of the law. Why were there no arrests? Why were there no indictments? Why did police not contact my client? Why did the school not contact my client,” Mumford said.

In a statement, SCCPSS acknowledged what they call "inappropriate classroom management” and said the district has launched a criminal investigation and reassigned the teacher and paraprofessional to work without students.

But the district pushes back on Thompson’s claim that the boy was held in a plywood box, saying, "There were several spaces created in the classroom using unsanctioned apparatus and materials but nothing in our investigation that would be specifically characterized as a 'plywood box.'"

SCCPSS’ full statements can be found below.

“This is illegal. You don't do this. You don't place special needs kids in the box just because they had their meltdown. That's not a sensory room, that's a prison,” Thompson said.

Mumford said they plan on filing a $500,000 lawsuit against the district and plans to sue the teacher for assault, battery and false imprisonment.

SCCPSS initial statement, sent Feb. 6:

“SCCPSS has investigated the report of inappropriate classroom management practices connected to a Special Education teacher at Heard Elementary that involved an individual constructing unauthorized partitions in the classroom that created areas of isolation to separate students. The presence of padded calming or cool-down areas is standard in some SPED classrooms. This is not a box. It is a partitioned off area of the room. However, in this instance, a taller plexiglass section had been added to the door to this area. This is not a district approved practice, and the individual was acting independently.

SCCPSS expects a supportive, nurturing environment in every classroom for the benefit of all students served and does not condone the actions of this educator. Upon learning of these allegations, the District immediately launched an administrative and criminal investigation. The teacher and paraprofessional were immediately reassigned within the district where they do not have contact with students.

The criminal investigation is lead by our Campus Police Department. The incident was reported to both DFACS and GAPSC. It was not reported to [the Savannah Police Department] as the incident occurred on a school campus and our Campus Police Department is the lead investigating agency. The investigation remains active.”

SCCPSS follow-up statement, sent Feb. 7:

“Our work in this matter included a full review of the classroom that considers many variables. There were several spaces created in the classroom using unsanctioned apparatus and materials but nothing in our investigation that would be specifically characterized as a “plywood box”. We want to make clear that the district in no way wishes to minimize the parent’s concern and takes this matter very seriously. The use of certain spaces, in an appropriate way, offers behavioral management approaches when working with students where unique behavioral challenges exist. We take the safety and security of our students and staff seriously. As stated previously, the teacher and paraprofessional were immediately reassigned to positions having no contact with students when administration became aware of the allegations. This is standard procedure when an investigation is initiated into a teacher’s actions. As the matter remains under investigation there is no further information available at this time.”