CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Parents went to Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members Tuesday asking for change at Metro School.
It comes after a Channel 9 investigation into an abuse case.
Channel 9 showed a video last week of a CMS teacher assistant slapping a student with autism.
Parents are demanding changes to prevent it from happening again.
“We’re extremely distraught, emotionally concerned, and for lack of a better word, it's unimaginable," said Jeff West, whose son goes to Metro School.
West, and other parents, plan to ask school board members for cameras in classrooms, for staff working with special needs children to have better training and better communication from the principal.
"They need to take responsibility," said Adolfo Pena-Herrera, whose brother is the boy in the video.
"I just can't imagine if this is happening to everybody, you know? And I bet it is.”
Pena-Herrera showed Channel 9 anchor Liz Foster pictures of bruises he said his brother Piero came home from school with multiple times.
"When he grabs him and tells him, ‘you know what I want?,’ Piero goes exactly into that corner," Pena-Herrera said.
CMS did not respond when asked how many reports of abuse or mistreatment of Metro students the district had received.
"If the school board doesn't take action to take care of our kids, we will take this to another level," Pena-Herrera said.
Parents told Channel 9 that if the district doesn’t address their concerns and make changes, it’s the same as neglect. They said their next step is speaking to state lawmakers.
The former assistant teacher in the video, William Gates, is serving 30 days in jail.
Teacher Carolina Borkey, who is charged with failing to report the incident, resigned in September. She is scheduled to be in Mecklenburg County court on Feb. 20.
(INTERVIEW CLIP: Brother Adolfo Pena-Herrera)
(Click play to watch teaching assistant hitting student)
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