School under fire after ‘punishing’ blind child by taking away his cane

An 8-year-old boy's parents were left outraged when his cane was taken away and replaced with a pool noodle

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Dakota Nafzinger, 8, needs his cane to get around, as he was born without eyes.

"He shouldn’t be treated the way he’s being treated"

His parents were left outraged when the school, claiming their blind son's cane was their property, took it away and gave him a pool noodle to use for the next two weeks instead.

According to school officials at Gracemoor Elementary School in Missouri, Dakota hit out at another child on Monday while riding the school bus.

The school then gave him a pool noodle as a 'replacement punishment', they said, because the boy "fidgets" without his cane.

via WTKR.com

However Dakota’s father, Donald Nafzinger, has since said that his son lifts his cane sometimes and the bus driver thought he was using it violently.

He told WTKR.com that the cane was taken away as a form of "humiliating" Dakota for misbehaving.

The troubled father added: “All around, he’s a good little guy, and he shouldn’t be treated the way he’s being treated.”

Watch the full report at WTKR.com now.

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