A Florida father went ballistic last week after learning that his seven-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome had been subjected to child abuse at school. Moreover, the abuse had been going on for six weeks. All in the name of COVID “safety,” of course.
When his daughter Sophia got off the bus on Oct. 7 she had a COVID mask tied tightly across her face, Jeffrey Steele told WOFL-TV in Orlando, as reported by The Blaze.
Upon further inspection, according to The Blaze, Steele said the face mask was tied around his daughter’s head with a blue nylon string and allegedly soaked with saliva. The dad said he forced himself to “[wait] four days” before calling the school.
“I was so angry so I waited four days from Thursday 7th to Tuesday after Columbus Day because I really need to calm down.
“When this child got off the bus and had the mask it was tied around the back of her head underneath her ponytail and it was quite tight around her face.”
Given Sophia’s condition, Steele said she could have aspirated — or worse.
“Medically, she could aspirate. She could asphyxiate all sorts of medical things that could happen and because of her breathing because of her enlarged tongue could cause seizures.”
Steele demanded to know why he was not informed in September, when the mask mandate first went into effect, and asked for his informed consent due to his daughter’s condition, as required by Florida law.
“Why in the world, since the mandate happened back in September and you were going to begin to put this on my child then tie it on my child, would you never pick up the phone and call me and ask me to give me my informed consent?”
Brevard Public Schools chief strategic communications officer Russell Bruhn immediately threw the school under the bus, in a statement in response to Steele’s allegations.
The student was given a medical mask exemption as soon as the mother made the request to school leadership. The school district is investigating and is in the process of gathering all the facts. BPS strives to ensure each student has the best educational experience possible and will continue in that effort.
A meaningless boilerplate response — devoid of even a simple apology for putting Sophia’s life in jeopardy.
State Representative Randy Fine (R) blasted teachers and the school board for forcibly masking a child with Down syndrome, adding that Steele went to the school for answers about the mask tied around his daughter’s head and was not satisfied with the explanation he was given.
“And he found out that they didn’t do it that day, they had tied this mask around her face every single day for the previous six weeks that she was in school. They just forgot to take it off that day before they sent her home.”
Fine then put the school district on full blast:
“There’s a special place in hell for the three people who did this to this girl. This girl experienced real child abuse at the hands of the Brevard County School Board, and I will tell you this: this Session, there’s going to be hell to pay for the people who did that.”
Talk about taking it to the paint, Randy — nicely played.
There is a special place in hell for the three @BrevardSchools Board Members who did this to seven year-old Sofia Steel. Please take two minutes and watch the comments I shared at the end of my committee meeting this week. pic.twitter.com/njVGWR9vAl
— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) October 22, 2021
Sounds like fireworks are going to fly. How fun would that be to see?
As I wrote this article I thought about how I might have if I were in Mr. Steele’s shoes. If I believed my young daughter was exempt from a school mask mandate, knowing that her enlarged tongue forces her to breath through her mouth, and seeing her get off the bus with a saliva-soaked mask tied tightly around her head, and if my daughter had a specialized plan at school that caters to her needs — which had been ignored. Let’s just say, I most likely would’ve made Jefferey Steele look like a saint.
7-year-old Sophia Steele has Downs Syndrome and is non-verbal. https://t.co/siWeZZnrlf
— IBTimes Singapore (@IBTimesSG) October 24, 2021
And if I also found out that my young daughter had been subjected to Critical Race Theory indoctrination — which is not the case with the Steeles — I’m pretty sure I would’ve made the national news after lighting up anyone even remotely responsible for treating my special needs child like that. Thankfully, I’m not in that position, and my kids now have kids of their own.
Incidentally, as noted by The Blaze, the mask mandate defied the executive order by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banning students from being required to wear masks in school and allowing the parents to decide, which was later blocked by a federal judge — which would not have stopped me from lighting up the teachers involved and the school board.
One wonders how many similar situations occur on a daily basis across America, as know-it-all teachers and school boards increasingly believe it is their job to teach our kids what they want to teach (indoctrinate) them, treat our kids how they want to treat them and mask children with pre-existing conditions without the informed consent of their parents. Solution? Cameras in classrooms.
Then again, that’s exactly how hypocritical Joe Biden and the Democrat Party feel about themselves.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member