Texas substitute teacher is fired for washing girl with Down syndrome’s mouth out using SOAP after accusing 13 year-old of cursing at her

A substitute teacher has been fired for rinsing the mouth of a girl with Down syndrome, with the 13-year-old accused of swearing at her.

The incident took place on Tuesday at the Cambridge School in Texas, a school that focuses on students with special needs.

LaShae Celestine, the mother of 13-year-old Harmony, who has Down syndrome and a speech impediment, said Harmoney’s teacher demanded to wash her mouth and placed a paper towel full of soap in her mouth.

The heartbroken mother, who viewed the surveillance camera footage that captured the incident, has filed a report with Child Protective Services and Humble Independent School District Police.

As of Friday morning, the teacher has not been identified or charged. DailyMail.com has reached out to Humble ISD police for more information.

LaShae Celestine (left), the mother of 13-year-old Harmony (right), who has Down syndrome and a speech impediment, said Harmoney’s teacher demanded to wash her mouth and placed a paper towel full of soap in her mouth

“You can’t unsee that video. For example, you actually attacked my baby by putting soap in her mouth,” Celestine said ABC13recalling the traumatic incident that happened to her child.

Celestine said she received an email from Cambridge School Principal Leslie Johnson on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the email, Harmoney worked with the substitute teacher shortly before 10 a.m. that day.

“While doing her job, Harmoney swore at the replacement.” wrote the director.

But Celestine said her daughter’s speaking skills are limited and just asked a question.

“(Harmony) said, ‘What are you doing?’ And she has a speech impediment because she has Down syndrome.

“And the lady answered her, and maybe a few minutes later my daughter said, ‘What is that?’ And it wasn’t that clear,” Celestine said.

The teacher interpreted the phrase as a swear word and demanded Harmony wash her mouth, the mother said.

“The replacement told her she was going to wash her mouth. She then grabbed a paper towel and soap,” Principal Johnson wrote in the email.

“My baby anxiously says, ‘No,’ and she says, ‘Wipe your mouth,’ and (Harmony) says, ‘No,’” Celestine said.

“So she decided to take it upon herself to walk up to my baby and put the napkin full of soap in my baby’s mouth,” she added.

‘I heard my baby say: why? That just brought me to tears because she looked at her and said why. She put the soap in my baby’s mouth.’

The mother said she did not hear Harmony swearing on the surveillance camera footage.

The teacher interpreted the phrase as a swear word and demanded Harmony wash her mouth, the mother said

The incident took place on Tuesday at the Cambridge School in Texas, a school that focuses on students with special needs

According to the school’s email, Harmony “slapped the substitute in the face to keep her from putting soap on her mouth.” The substitute hit Harmony back.”

The email states, “A paraprofessional in the classroom intervened by having the substitute leave the classroom and she made sure Harmony was okay.”

Celestine believes that the school did not immediately communicate openly about the incident and insists on an explanation from the substitute.

“I have a question for her, was it even necessary, did you have to go there?” Celestine asked in an interview with a local news channel.

“That video showed me that she ran out of patience that day, and if you don’t have the patience to work in a classroom with children with special needs, children with disabilities or children, period, you need to find another profession,” Celestine said. said.

‘Just to be safe, I’m sending her to school. I’m her protector, so when I take her to school, it’s like, ‘Tag, it’s you. It’s time for you to protect,’ and she wasn’t,” she added.

As of 2024, corporal punishment is still allowed in private schools in every U.S. state except New Jersey, Iowa, New York, and Maryland.

It is legal in public schools in 17 states and practiced in 12 of the states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee prohibit the use of corporal punishment for students with disabilities.

The school district said in a statement that the teacher is no longer employed: “We are shocked and outraged by the actions of the substitute teacher.

“All school staff must care for students in a respectful manner that respects partnership with their parents.

“The district has reported the incident to Child Protective Services and the modest ISD Police Department is investigating.”