RACINE - A special education teacher at Jerstad-Agerholm Middle School was put on leave last week while district officials and police started investigating a complaint that she slapped an autistic student.

District officials placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of their investigation. The Journal Times is not naming the teacher while the investigation is ongoing.

Police have also started investigating the allegation that the teacher slapped the student in the face while her class was on a field trip to Downtown Racine on June 10. The teacher has worked in the Racine Unified School District since 1987, according to a district spokeswoman.

She has been a special education teacher at Jerstad-Agerholm Middle School, 3601 LaSalle St., since 2003.

Belinda Lee, the boy's mother, filed a report with police last week after meeting with school officials about the allegations. Lee said she heard about the alleged incident from her other son who also attends the school.

Lee said she's struggled with district and school officials for years about her autistic son's education and has dealt with similar issues in the past. She also alleges that teachers have restrained her son, which she says is against the rules of his Individualized Education Program.

"I don't think the teachers are trained to work with autistic children," said Lee, who enrolled her son in the district when he was 3 years old, shortly after moving to Racine from Texas.

Administrative leaveDistrict officials can place employees on administrative leave for a variety of reasons any time the district doesn't want to have an employee in a building, said Stephanie Hayden, Unified's spokeswoman.

Leave does not indicate that there is a disciplinary situation and does not indicate an employee did anything wrong, Hayden said.

"There are some pretty serious allegations made against this staff member. While the investigation is ongoing we feel it is best to put the person on paid administrative leave," Hayden said.

District officials could not say if the teacher has ever had any other complaints filed against her.

The investigation stems from a report by an assistant teacher in the classroom, one of four teachers who attended the field trip, who called district officials to report that he witnessed the teacher slap the child on the face, Lee said.

In addition to autism, Lee's son Christopher, who is 12, is mostly non-verbal, can be aggressive and needs a one-on-one assistant. He also struggles with a number of other health issues, which has put a strain on Lee, who is dealing with her own mental health issues, she said.

The situation has put a strain on her entire family, she said. It's also been difficult for Lee who has struggled in the past with drugs, alcohol and anger issues stemming from her own abuse as a child, she said.

"When it comes to my kids everybody around the block knows how I treat my kids. I will defend what belongs to me and my kids belong to me and God," Lee said. "I love my autistic son like I love my other children. This is why I am doing the stuff I'm doing."