South Carolina – Teachers undergo different kinds of training to learn how to handle challenging situations in schools and to act properly when they run into problems with students. This especially applies to teachers who teach children with disabilities, as they are required to know specific techniques because of the environment they are in every day.
South Carolina teacher arrested for failing to properly handle incident in school
Despite the above-mentioned, a South Carolina teacher was arrested after failing to act properly regarding several incidents that took place in past months and once earlier this month involving students with mental disabilities at the school where she was teaching. The school fired the teacher following the incidents.
The Florence News Journal has learned that the teacher, Dana Elizabeth Bowen, was arrested and released after posting a bond because she failed to report several incidents in which one of her female students was inappropriately touched by her classmates. While the teacher is now most likely to lose her license, the public and parents of students are furious over how she handled the incident.
The details
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office told Florence News Journal that they have charged a teacher for not telling authorities about wrongdoings in a classroom. Local authorities say that from September to November 2023, a young girl was wrongly touched by another student. Then, in January, the same girl was touched again, but differently, by a different student.
On January 11, the police issued arrest warrants for Dana Elizabeth Bowen. She was a teacher at New Prospect Elementary School, working with students with mental disabilities. She didn’t tell the school leaders about these two events.
The Criminal Investigations Division mentioned that Bowen did talk to the girl’s mother about what happened, but she never informed the school. As a teacher, she is legally required to report any harm or neglect of a child.
Bowen surrendered to the police in mid-January. She’s no longer working for Anderson School District 5. The authorities confirmed that she’s facing charges for not reporting child abuse or neglect.
