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Teachers' Union Claims District Ignores Student-On-Staff Violence

Picture of a Vermont School Bus
Jared C. Benedict/Wikimedia Commons

The teachers' union affiliate in Rutland, Vermont, has filed a complaint with the state labor board, saying school administrators are ignoring concerns about student-on-staff violence.  But the superintendent of schools is disputing the teachers' union complaint.
State Department of Labor records show many incidents involve students hitting, biting or otherwise assaulting para-educators. The state has previously fined the Rutland district for workplace safety violations.

The union, an affiliate of the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association, has filed a complaint with the Vermont Labor Relations Board.  Spokesman Darren Allen says the problem of student violence against educators is a concern around Vermont, but has been especially acute in Rutland.

Rutland School Superintendent Mary Moran says the complaint contains numerous misstatements and fallacies. She says the incidents cited by the Rutland Education Association involve students with special needs acting out.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.