02-04-2025
Family alleges Plano ISD teacher abused high school student with disability; police investigating
A Plano Independent School District family believes their high school senior, who has a disability, was abused by a teacher. Police are investigating.
Lestia Nelson said a few years ago her daughter, Saniyah was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called GRIN syndrome.
"She's totally disabled," she said. "She needs help with personal care, feeding, transferring, diapering, everything."
Nelson said earlier this year, she started noticing things that would concern her when her daughter would arrive home from school.
"When she would get home she would have a horrible diaper rash that would be bleeding," she said. "I asked them about it, asked them if they could change her more, and it was a struggle. Also, with the feeding, they put her on a liquid diet without notifying me so Saniyah lost 10-15 pounds."
Nelson said she asked her daughter if she could put a recording device in her backpack.
"She said yes, so I put an audio recorder in her book bag and just recorded," she said.
On January 8, she heard Saniyah crying.
"I know that Saniyah doesn't just cry," she said.
She took her daughter to a doctor who documented a "decreased range of motion" in her neck.
Nelson said her daughter has not returned to school since.
She told CBS News Texas she asked Plano ISD to send her the video from that day and just received it last week. A teacher's actions in the video greatly concerned her.
"While she was doing something, she elbowed her and pushed her head down and then because Saniyah's head went down, she choked her to pick her up and Saniyah started crying," Nelson said. "I saw that she bent her fingers backward."
"It's really difficult to watch the video more than once but each time we do look at it we do find something else that was wrong," Alvin Nelson said.
On social media, Lestia Nelson documented all of her concerns.
In a statement to CBS News Texas, a spokesperson for Plano ISD said:
Plano police confirm they're investigating.
Lestia Nelson believes there needs to be more accountability and wants to see criminal charges.
"I'm a fighter and I'm going to fight for Sanaya until everything is right," she said.
