Mom Sues School Over Son's Punishment

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Mar 16, 2009 5:40PM

The mother of a former Coolidge Middle School student has filed a lawsuit claiming that in March 2008 a counselor and a social worker punished her son by forcing him to hold a squatting position while holding two heavy books. He then urinated on himself and was forced to return to class soaked in urine. The boy and his friends were being punished for making a mess in the lunchroom and were told to run laps. He couldn't finish, though, so he was taken to the counselor's office, which other students referred to as "the holding cell." The counselor and social worker mentioned in the court documents are no longer working at the South Holland school. The woman says her son has since suffered from extreme anxiety, panic attacks, recurring nightmares, frequent flashbacks and sleepwalking.