(WSVN) - A 10-year-old boy had a seizure in school, and his mask came off. The result? He was kicked out of school for violating the mandatory mask policy. Don’t believe it? Neither did his parents, so they called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser to try to get help.
Justin is an amazing kid.
Justin Floyd: “I’m a brave, giant, smart little boy.”
Justin has to be brave, because other kids think he is different and target him.
Justin Floyd Sr.: “They took him in the bathroom, and they jumped them, and he hit his head on the toilet.”
A year after the attack, life got tougher for Justin when he started having seizures.
Justin Floyd Sr.: “He was 9 years old when he had his first sezure. I can’t even count how many seizures he has a month.”
Justin’s parents try to help him lead a normal life, but the seizures make it difficult.
Justin Floyd Sr.: “My son wants to do karate. He wants to play football. He wants to do sports, but he can’t do any of those because of his seizures.”
But the little guy can do one thing he loves: go to school.
Justin Floyd: “I like going to school, and I like learning, because if I don’t learn, I’ll be grown, I’ll be a grown man, and I still won’t have nothing in my head.”
Then, this school year, he had a seizure in his Henry Mack classroom. The elder Justin rushed over.
Justin Floyd Sr. “The seizure was over. He was sitting in a chair. He gave me the fist bump that he was OK.”
However, things were not OK. The father was told his son could no longer attend school.
Justin Floyd Sr. “She just said that my son was at risk of giving the rest of the kids coronavirus, because when he has his seizures, his face mask comes off.”
That’s right. Justin was kicked out of school because his face mask came off when he had a seizure. The administration concluded that violated the mandatory mask policy and risked giving other kids in the class COVID.
Ridiculous, his father says.
Justin Floyd Sr. “They’re using the coronavirus as an excuse. They don’t want to deal with the kids who have needs.”
Justin was heartbroken, because like any 10-year-old, he has big dreams of what he is going to do when he grows up.
Justin Floyd: “I will be a police officer, because the police helps people.”
Now he needs help, so he can go back to school to be with his friends.
Justin Floyd: “I really miss you all. One day, my mom will put me back in the school. I really miss you all so much.”
So adorable, but Howard, can a mandatory mask policy be used to kick a kid out of school because the mask comes off when he has a dangerous seizure?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “This is stupid, and you don’t have to be a lawyer to know this is illegal. The poor child was having a seizure, and his mask came off. Common sense tells you it was not intentional. Legally, if the district doesn’t let him back in school, a judge will quickly straighten them off and could punish the district financially as well.”
And it was straightened out quickly.
Miami-Dade School District’s chief spokesperson, Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, wrote, “Employees have been instructed to enforce the use of facial coverings. However, there are exceptions to our safety protocols, including emergency medical situations.”
Then she added, “A thorough review has been conducted that resulted in disciplinary action against a school employee who unfortunately used poor judgment in handling this incident.”
Justin Floyd Sr.: “My son went back to school the very next day. That’s awesome.”
It’s what Justin wanted.
Justin Floyd: “The first day, When my friends saw me, they all were happy, ‘Yay, Justin’s back!'”
Justin has faced so many hurdles in life. Finally, a victory for him.
Justin Floyd: “I was happy. I started dancing.”
Justin Floyd Sr.: “Help Me Howard’s cool, right?”
Justin Floyd: “Yep, they’re awesome!”
Well, if a 10-year-old says we are awesome, I am not gonna argue. Enjoy school, Justin, and keep dreaming about being a police officer, and one day you will be one.
Some nonsense making no sense to you? Ready for some common sense? Let us school them, ’cause we charge no cents, or dollars. We’re free.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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