TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa family is looking for answers after their daughter got a black eye while at school.
The Llanes family has heard differing stories about how their six year old daughter was hurt. It has been a couple of weeks, and the family still does not have a clear answer.
Kalani Llanes just finished kindergarten at Hawthorne Elementary School. Kalani is six-years-old and has non-verbal autism.
Tulsa family searching for answers after kindergartener with autism suffers unexplained black eye at school.
Llanes Family
The school called her mom, Kendra, on May 14 to let her know Kalani got a black eye in the hallway.
“The school called and told me that she had hit her face on the wall switching classes, and when we picked her up, she had a black eye,” said Kendra Rogers Llanes, Kalani’s mother.
Kendra said they asked the school to see the security camera video but said the clips only showed before and after, not the moment she was injured.
“I mean everybody saw,” said Kendra. “We replayed it, zoomed in, zoomed out, and nobody knows how she got the black eye.”
FOX23 reached out to Tulsa Public Schools for an interview. They sent the following statement:
“Tulsa Public Schools is aware of concerns raised regarding a student at Hawthorne Elementary. The safety and well-being of all students is our top priority, and we take any report of a potential injury or safety concern seriously. Upon learning of the matter, the district followed proper reporting protocols, and the matter was referred to Tulsa Public Schools Campus Police for review. That process is ongoing. Out of respect for the student, and to uphold the integrity of that review, the district is unable to provide additional detail at this time. Tulsa Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe, supportive learning environments for all students. We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that every student is treated with care and dignity.”
FOX23 also asked the district if any employees were placed on leave at this time. District officials stated that no personnel are currently on leave, but they confirmed that an internal administrative review remains active alongside the campus police investigation.
“I tried to ask her. [Kalani] kind of showed me a little bit [of] what happened but it’s hard to…get it out,” Kendra said. “It’s hard to get it out of anybody what happened.”
“It’s just like we’re chasing our tail trying to get some answers,” said Doris Llanes, Kalani’s grandmother.
Hawthorne was Kalani’s third Tulsa Public School. She switched due to safety issues across the district.
A Tulsa family searching for answers after kindergartener with autism suffers unexplained black eye at school.
Llanes Family
“We started her home school at Greenwood, and her teacher went to jail over a felony warrant. The program that they put her in at Kendall Whittier was kids with autism that…their communication was hitting and so she got kicked in the mouth twice,” said Kendra.
Kendra wondered if the special education staff are getting the support and training, they need to safely manage these classrooms.
“I feel like they’re just throwing students into classrooms at this point,” said Kendra. “That’s kind of one reason why I’m getting upset with Tulsa public Schools because she’s just getting hurt and now, they can’t tell me why she got hurt.”
The Llanes family said they are waiting on the results of the campus police investigation. They said those answers will help them decide what to do about school come August.
