6-year-old with autism suspended from school because of GPS device
A 6-year-old boy from Milwaukee living with autism has been suspended from school because of a GPS tracker he wears on a belt under his clothes.
The device that Kahlil Hadley wears sends an alert to his mom's phone if he wanders outside of a preset zone.
Hadley began wearing the device on Friday, and on Tuesday his mom received an urgent message from the boy's school: remove the device or remove him. Cassandra Hadley refused, resulting in the suspension.
The district's suspension letter cited the fact that Kahlil "was wearing a GPS device with listening capabilities," functionality that can be turned on and off and allows Hadley to listen in on her son after she receives an alert.
"I'm his mom," Cassandra Hadley said. "I'm responsible or him. I'm responsible for fighting for him."
In a statement, school officials said "the device in this instance is not a GPS device, it is a listening device that has the capability to allow anyone to listen to what is being said in the classroom, which could violate others’ privacy rights.
"For students with specific needs a GPS device can be considered as part of their program. The parents have been previously told that there is a process for approving GPS devices, and they refused to follow that process."