Orange Co. mother demands answers after son allegedly pushed by teacher

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County mother is furious after she said her 6-year-old son’s substitute teacher at Durrance Elementary School grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground.

Susan Griffin said the school never notified her about what happened to her son, who has Down syndrome, and it wasn’t until an official with the Department of Children and Families showed up at her doorstep did she find out about the alleged incident.

“The substitute teacher had grabbed my son by his shoulder and then turned around and grabbed him by his back, and made him scream and cry,” Griffin said.

A spokesperson for Orange County Public Schools said the teacher is not their employee and they cannot comment on anything involving a minor.

WFTV learned the substitute teacher is a contract employee with Kelly Services.

A spokesperson for the employment agency said they are concerned about the incident and are cooperating fully with authorities.

They also said they haven’t had any prior issues with the teacher and conduct full background checks on their employees.

“I don’t want Stephen at Durrance because of this situation,” Griffin said.

Griffin said she was told the substitute teacher was suspended, but other than that has gotten few answers surrounding what happened to her son.

“He needs to be protected while he’s in school, and he was not protected,” she said.

Kelly Services officials said they cannot confirm whether or not the teacher was suspended or fired and the investigation is ongoing.

WFTV