PONCA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – A Ponca City family is outraged after finding their 4-year-old son in what they called a school closet as punishment.

Eugene Phillips said he picked up his son from Washington Pre-K Center on Oct. 11 after getting a call from the school to do so. When he got to the school, he said he found his kid crying in a “closet.”

“They just said he won’t come out,” said Phillips. “They said they put him in there and now he won’t come out.”

Phillips said he wanted an explanation as to why his son was secluded from other students because he was never made aware of any behavioral issues.

“I just had a parent teacher conference Tuesday, so it’s kind of like if there was a problem, why wasn’t it said?” he said. “According to the teacher, he’s one of the best kids in the class, grades and all. So I don’t know. And I know he’s been having some issues with that school and I’m starting to think it’s because they’ve been putting him in that room.”

Ponca City Public Schools Superintendent Adam Leaming allegedly told Phillips the utilization of placing a student in a small room is district-wide and Oklahoma Department of Human Services approved.

Phillips claims school officials also admitted to secluding his son in a small room once before. He said he was never made aware until last week.

“Oklahoma Human Services does not license pre-K programs operated at public schools during typical school hours,” stated DHS External Communications and Media Relations Administrator, Casey White.

Per state law, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is to provide each local board of education materials dealing with effective classroom discipline techniques as an alternative to the use of corporal punishment.

Ponca City Public Schools declined an on-camera interview Monday afternoon, but did send a statement.

Ponca City Public Schools Director of Public Information/Webmaster, Kristi Hayes told KFOR the Ponca City Board of Education has a seclusion policy in place that is in accordance with the OSDE.

“Students are only placed in the recovery room, which meets all requirements set forth by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, if aggression/violence is being directed toward staff or another person. The purpose of this practice for our four-year-olds is to provide a safe space for students to become calm. The room (not a closet) is used for safety matters only, not punishment or discipline. Occasionally, parents are invited to the school as a means to calm the students. The parents of the student in question were invited to the school last Wednesday. Safety will always be a top priority for ALL students attending Ponca City Public Schools. 

Students are only placed in the recovery room, which meets all requirements set forth by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, if aggression/violence is being directed toward staff or another person. The purpose of this practice for our four-year-olds is to provide a safe space for students to become calm. The room (not a closet) is used for safety matters only, not punishment or discipline. Occasionally, parents are invited to the school as a means to calm the students. The parents of the student in question were invited to the school last Wednesday. Safety will always be a top priority for ALL students attending Ponca City Public Schools.”

Ponca City Public Schools Director of Public Information/Webmaster, Kristi Hayes

News 4 has reached out to the Oklahoma State Department of Education a couple of times on Monday to see if Ponca City’s “seclusion policy” is allowed by the state. We have not heard back.

The mom of the 4-year-old who was put in seclusion, Erika Buerger said she doesn’t understand what her son could have done wrong because he’s “pretty well behaved. He’s pretty well minded. He’s a very smart child.”

“I don’t know if they’re trying to classify that as a time out, but secluding him from other children is very traumatizing. Secluding him by himself and making him stay in a small space. I mean, for a four year old in his first year of school, that’s a very big, traumatizing thing. You know, I don’t want him to hate school because of it,” explained Buerger.

Buerger said they have filed a police report and plan to file a grievance report against the district with the State Board of Education on Monday.

She said she is considering pressing charges as she considers the incident abuse.

“I do not want to stay quiet about it,” she added. “I do want [the school district] held accountable. [Phillips] did bring it to the Superintendent and asked him, you know, ‘Well, if we were to lock our child in the closet and he came to school and he told you about it, you would call DHS and the police, correct?’ And he said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘Well, we need to.’ What are you doing then?”

Ponca City Public Schools was not in session Monday because of fall break.

However, Phillips and Buerger do not plan to send their child back to school on Tuesday. The pair is currently looking at a different school to enroll him in.

“Talk to your kids. Find out what’s going on. Find out what form of punishment is being used. Make sure they know that it’s okay to come home and tell your parents, you know, if something doesn’t feel right. Come on and tell mom and dad,” said Buerger.

Legislation to ban “seclusion rooms” were authored in 2016 and 2017, but both bills failed to progress.

News 4 has requested a picture of the “seclusion room” Buerger’s son was put in, including the measurements. Hayes said she will send a picture of the room by Tuesday morning.