Mother of student who was berated 'confused' by minister's comments

The mother of a teenage girl with an auditory processing disorder who was berated by her gym teacher says she is "confused" by Nova Scotia Education Minister Zach Churchill's comments about the case.

Amy Bennett was yelled at by her gym teacher for more than three minutes in the main hallway of Bayview Community School in Mahone Bay, N.S., on June 4, 2018.

A nine-month investigation concluded there was an "abuse of power" by the teacher and a "lack of appropriate response" by other adults who watched what happened and did nothing.

But the Bennett family has been told they have no right to know any of the report's recommendations. 

Amy's mother, Lisa Bennett, said while she was pleased that Churchill acknowledged wrongdoing by the teacher, she noted other comments differed from his June 27 email to her daughter.

The 13-year-old girl wrote to Churchill on June 1 asking to meet with him, but he declined.

"He said [in the email] that his schedule wouldn't allow for a meeting at this time, but he told the media that it would be political interference if he met with us, so that I find confusing," Lisa Bennett said in a phone interview Sunday.

"If he can't meet with us, maybe the deputy minister can meet with us."

On Friday, Amy and Lisa Bennett met with members of the South Shore Regional Centre for Education and an official with the Education Department.

Lisa Bennett said she was encouraged by the officials' commitment to ensuring Amy's situation does not happen again, and that they wanted to hear Amy's story directly from her. 

But she remains frustrated that the recommendations that stemmed from the investigation will not be shared. She said that means neither the school nor the individuals can be held accountable.

"This is our daughter. This is something that's very personal to us, but we can't see the outcome of it," said Lisa Bennett.

"It doesn't give us oversight on whether or not those recommendations were actually carried through."

Lisa Bennett also said that if it wasn't for the family's advocacy, no investigation or policy changes would have ever taken place.

Joint investigation

Amy Bennett's story came to light following a joint investigation between CBC News and CKBW Radio in Bridgewater, N.S.

The family had filed formal complaints against several staff members, and a May 14 letter from the South Shore Regional Centre for Education said the allegations were founded. 

The letter said there were "a number of recommendations which are applicable to individuals and also to the system as a whole." It said all the recommendations were accepted, but would not be shared.