Four-year-old sent to play with garbage in stairwell as punishment at pre-K school

'My son is a human being. For them to treat my child in this manner, I'm flabbergasted and floored.'

One pre-kindergarten school has come under fire after a video depicting a 4-year-old playing on a garbage-strewn stairwell went viral.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to CBS, P.S. 198 teachers sent an unsupervised 4-year-old boy to a stairwell full of garbage as punishment for acting out in class.

The boy's mother, Fatima Scipio, was extremely angry with the preschool's lack of professionalism when they were supposed to provide her son with a fun and safe environment.

Scipio told CBS that her son was left alone on a dangerous stairwell among broken-down cardboard boxes and full garbage bags that may or may not contain nails, staples or other sharp objects.

Though the possibility of her son falling down the stairs in his play was not mentioned, Scipio was understandably furious and accused an employee of taking physical actions against her child.

"The para-professional has dragged him down the stairs, has pinned him against the wall with his arms pinned against the wall, and he said to me, 'Mommy, my arms was hurting,'" Scipio reported.

Community activist and Scipio's lawyer, Tony Herbert, reviewed the video and spoke to Scipio before responding, "If this mom had done that in her apartment building and put her son on that stairwell, guess where she would be right now? Jail."

She added that the video, which was taken by an anonymous woman and sent to Scipio, brought to light how her son has been punished for at least the past three weeks, during which time school employees reported difficulties with the boy each day.

"I get numerous phone calls each and every day that my son has spit, kicked, and did all of these things, and I've asked the school 'what are you guys doing to my child while he's in school? What is the reason for him to behave in this manner?' Because my child does not behave in this manner in no shape or form at home at all," Scipio explained.

"My son is a human being. For them to treat my child in this manner, I am flabbergasted and floored."

Herbert and Scipio are demanding P.S. 198 take responsibility for its actions. 

In a statement issues on Monday night, Toya Holness, the Deputy Press Secretary for Department of Education said: "We are investigating this alarming allegation and taking swift action. There will be additional guidance counselors and social workers at the school tomorrow and our top priority is keeping all students safe."

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