BATAVIA, Ohio (WXIX) - The family of a special needs teenager is demanding changes after teachers at a Tri-State high school taped their special needs son to a chair last spring.
Dustin Hodge is a student at West Clermont High School. On March 1, he was taped to a chair by former teachers Alison Vestring and Rachel Smith, who also recorded the incident.
Hodge could be heard on the video asking for help and telling the teachers to stop.
Angela Hodge, Dustin's mother, said the family relived the incident in court hearings for months. She hopes it's coming to an end soon.
Vestring pleaded no contest to unlawful restraint. She was given community service and can no longer work with special needs kids. Smith was found guilty of unlawful restraint and child endangering after she went to trial. She's scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2.
Dustin's father, Mark Hodge, wants to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
"For him to be taken care of by anybody else, you don't know what's ever going to happen to him," Mark said. "We want to outlive him, so that's kind of our goal."
Angela said Dustin returned to the district, but only after they were given assurances from the school.
"He's non-verbal, so he can't tell us if anything happened to him," Mark said. "So that's a scary thing."
Angela said dozens of families with non-verbal children reached out when the incident became public.
"It's nice to have that kind of support," Angela said.
The Hodges are advocating for legislative changes to require cameras in special needs classrooms. According to Ohio Administrative Code 3337, recording in classrooms isn't permitted unless permission is granted and students are notified, meaning it can vary from classroom to classroom. The Hodges are hoping parents will help them change the law.
"We wish there could be some kind of camera in the classroom to watch the teachers," Angela said. "We don't have to view it, but maybe someone else could view it, a third party, and if any student comes home with bruises or scratches, parents could question what happened."
The Hodges said they are writing letters to Gov. Mike DeWine asking him to support making cameras permanent in special needs classrooms.