An Alabama mother claims her five year-old daughter was forced to sign a “safety contract” at school without her mother’s knowledge after the little girl was in trouble for reportedly pretending a crayon was a gun and “shooting” it at another student.
As Local 15 News reports, the mother, who identified herself as “Rebecca,” said E.R. Dickson school in Mobile County made her daughter sign a public safety contract that promises the five year-old will not kill or injure herself or others, without her presence or consent.
“This isn’t right,” Rebecca said. “She’s 5 years old. Most of these words on here, she’s never heard in her life.”
Rebecca explained that school officials told her they had to send Elizabeth home after an incident in class.
“They told me she drew something that resembled a gun,” she said. “According to them she pointed a crayon at another student and said, ‘pew pew.'”
Following the alleged incident, Rebecca said her daughter was given a questionnaire to evaluate her for suicidal thoughts.
“[They] asked her if she was depressed now,” she said.
The mother said Elizabeth was then given, without her consent, the Mobile County Public School Safety Contract to sign, affirming that she would not kill herself or others.
“While I was in the lobby waiting they had my 5-year-old sign a contract about suicide and homicide,” said Rebecca.
According to Alabama state law, the report states, minors cannot legally sign a contract.
“There should be a different way to handle this situation,” Rebecca said. “If this is protocol it needs to be looked at again.”
Local 15 News reports it contacted school officials to determine proper protocol when handling “violent-like” behavior, but received no response in return.
“My child interrupted us and said, ‘What is suicide, Mommy? Daddy, what is suicide?'” Rebecca said. “As a parent that’s not right. I’m the one should be able to talk to my child and not have someone else mention words like this in front of her at all.”
While Rebecca asserts she wants the incident removed from her child’s school record, school officials have requested that she have Elizabeth evaluated by a psychiatrist, which Rebecca believes is unnecessary.