09-02 · Child Discipline Group: Sec. 7-34, Ordinance, DCF Handbook, and Sec. 402.305, Florida

Complaint alleges that a child in the classroom was being bad, and Ms. V.C. took her belt off of her pants and told the child that she was going to hit him with it. Then she took a chair, threw it in the middle of the room and then strapped the child to the chair with her belt. The child was crying. FINDINGS: A complaint inspection was conducted on 5/15/2026 and statements from the teacher, assistant teacher and assistant director was received. Per the teacher, On Tuesday, May 12th, 2026, at around noon the class had lunch in the classroom. The teacher had a class of ten, two- year-olds sitting at the table. L.B. was very restless and would not sit still in his chair. He kept getting up and tipped over lunchboxes, nearly falling. Since Happyland Day School is not equipped with highchairs or bucket seats for two-year-old classes, the teacher took it upon herself and used her belt as a safety buckle. L.B. sat still and finished his lunch in 3 - 4 minutes. The teacher stated that there was never any harm intended, nor did she abuse or neglect L.B. in any way. L.B. was not injured at all. She stated that her action was only to help a two-year-old sit still and be able to eat lunch, by improvising a highchair. Per the assistant teacher, she has observed the teacher use her belt to help children remain safely seated on their chairs. She believes that no harm was done to the children and that some people appreciate her assistance in helping the children stay calm and regulated. Per the assistant director, the teacher informed DCF and law enforcement that she only intended to create a high chair by using her belt to keep the child seated. The assistant director stated that the teacher (V.C.) is on leave pending the investigation. Cameras were observed in the hallway and entry point of the school but no cameras were observed in the classrooms. This complaint is deemed partly substantiated. Although the statements regarding the reasons for using a personal belt are different than the alleged complaint, the action itself goes against our minimum discipline standards that prohibit tying or restricting movement of a child