Teacher accused of making 5-year-old unclog toilet with hands put on leave in Arkansas

A kindergarten teacher in Arkansas was placed on administrative leave after a mom said her son was forced to unclog a toilet with his hands at a North Little Rock school on Friday.

When Ashley Murry’s 5-year-old son arrived home from kindergarten at Crystal Hill Elementary School, she was shocked when he recounted his day, KARK reported.

He told his mom he’d been forced to unclog a toilet using his hands because he’d “used too much toilet paper,” according to KATV.

“It’s degrading for a child so I don’t feel like any child should have to go through this,” Murry told KARK. “They basically made him go in the toilet and get his feces and the dirty tissue out of the toilet.”

The Pulaski County Special School District said in a statement Tuesday that the teacher was placed on administrative leave and that it is “actively investigating” the incident.

The district said it “aims to ensure that every student is treated with respect in all areas of the education process.”

It added that it can’t “disclose information in regards to disciplinary personnel matters” per district policy.

This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Teacher accused of making 5-year-old unclog toilet with hands put on leave in Arkansas."