(WJBK) - Jessica Cross of Dearborn Heights is frustrated with her children's school after her 8-year-old autistic son was told not to bring his Bible to class anymore, and then her 6-year-old daughter's worksheet referenced alcohol. Her children attend Highview Elementary in Michigan.
She says her son, Jason, would take his Bible to school as his book of choice to read during free time. He was eventually told that book is "only for church, not school."
Cross says this was just the beginning of her frustration with this school. She says, for months, she's been disgusted with the way her special needs son has been treated.
"Putting my son in time outs for 13 hours a week and refusing him lunch, and just absurd things and just, if I did something like that I'd lose my kids!" says Cross. She has kept classroom logs and says she's gotten nowhere with the school officials since October.
"We've done meetings. We've met together, and whenever we all get in the same room together, then they just lie," she says.
But what her daughter, Jaclyn, asked her Wednesday while she was cooking dinner was the last straw for this mother.
She says her daughter asks, "'Mommy, why would a daddy drinking wine make a mommy happy?' And I dropped my spoon, I was like, 'What?'"
Her daughter's worksheet read, "My dad drinks wine. He puts a lime in his wine. It makes my mom smile."
When she voiced her concerns to the superintendent, she says the response was: "What would you like me to do about it? What can I do about it?"
FOX 2 spoke with the superintendent of Crestwood schools, Dr. Laurine VanValkenburg. She says she understands Cross's frustration and says, "If a child wants to bring a bible to school, they may."
As for that worksheet VanValkenburg apologized, adding that she has been unable to address the situation as she has been out of town. She says she will make sure both incidents are looked into when she returns.
