Eula Elementary School fails to notify mother after autistic child is injured on the playground

An Eula ISD mother says she picked up her autistic, nonverbal son from Eula Elementary School with a busted lip and a bloody shirt.

Madisson Srader says her three-year-old son Jagger Srader’s seventh day of school on September 24 was unfortunately his last day.

The mother says her son was kicked in the face when he ran in front of another child who was sitting on a swing, causing a broken lip.

Madisson Srader says she understands that accidents happen at school, but not calling to report the accident is unacceptable.

“I was really excited for my kid to come, and when I see him, his lip is huge,” Madisson Srader said. “He just wasn’t himself.”

The mother says she was completely shocked when she saw her son’s lip, and she was even more shocked when she heard Eula Elementary’s apology for not calling her.

“Because he didn’t cry,” Madisson Srader said. “That was her main focus. He wasn’t crying enough to warrant a phone call. That’s what the director told us.”

Srader said her preschooler’s lip was still bleeding when she picked him up from school and he was suffering pain from the injury at home.

“His bottom lip was still swollen for over a week, to the point where he was drooling when given a drink,” Madisson Srader said. “The entire drink wouldn’t stay in his mouth because he was so swollen. He neither ate nor drank for 24 hours. Every time he tried he would just start crying because he was in pain. But the school didn’t think a call was necessary.”

Jagger’s mother said she was glad her special needs child could finally enjoy going to school like other children his age, but now the 3-year-old is being homeschooled because his safety is a priority.

“I just feel like school is not a safe place for children with special needs right now,” Madisson Srader said. “I hate that this had to happen to us because I was so excited and Jagger really loved going to school. When we got to school, he was ready to get out of the car. He took the assistant’s hand, they took him to class and he left. There should have been a call, but they didn’t think it was warranted.”

Eula ISD issued the following statement:

The safety of our students and employees is always Eula ISD’s top priority. We have a dedicated staff who have been working tirelessly to create a safe learning environment for everyone and have done so for a long time. Eula ISD considers all cases of injury to our children to be important. In the event of an injury to a child, Eula ISD will follow this protocol.

1. Make sure the student is safe.

2.Assess the child to see if medical assistance can be provided by school staff or if outside medical assistance is required.

3. Notify parents immediately if an injury requires outside medical treatment or hospitalization.

4. Notify parents of less minor injuries requiring first aid treatment from staff by canceling the school day.