MOBILE, Ala. — A Mobile County school’s handling of a kindergartner’s classroom drawing has drawn national attention and prompted district leaders to promise a review of the safety protocol involved.
According to an account relayed by the child’s mother, identified only as Rebecca, her 5-year-old daughter at a Mobile County elementary school drew something resembling a gun during class and pointed a crayon at another student while saying pew pew. School staff sent the child home and asked her to sign a safety contract promising she would not hurt herself or others, along with a questionnaire meant to screen for suicidal thoughts. Rebecca said she was never consulted before her daughter was asked to sign the documents.
Mobile County Public Schools Superintendent Martha Peek said the school counselor followed a system-wide safety protocol that staff have been instructed to use anytime a student appears to be considering hurting themselves or someone else. Peek acknowledged, though, that applying the same procedure regardless of a child’s age created problems in this case. She said a one size fits all approach did not work well for a kindergartner, adding that stepping back to look at the full situation could have led to additional guidance for staff.
The story spread quickly once a local television station first reported it, picked up soon after by national outlets, several of which ran headlines describing a young child being asked to sign a suicide-related contract. Commentary pieces followed on national websites, with some arguing the response was disproportionate to a young child’s classroom behavior.
Peek said the district takes the underlying concern seriously but agrees the specific protocol needs adjusting for younger students. She said the district is reacting to the parent’s concern while also trying to do what is developmentally appropriate for children of every age in the school system. She added that the district did not have a chance to talk with the family before the situation became a national story, and that she wants parents with concerns to bring them directly to school officials going forward.
Peek said the safety policy will be reworked in light of the incident, which she described as highly unusual for the 5-year-old age group, and that the district will work to make sure it is addressed going forward.