Texas school confiscates yearbooks over section labeling students 'mentally retarded'

Published November 20, 2014

A Texas school district confiscated all of the yearbooks from one of its high schools after being criticized for a special needs section that listed students and their disabilities.

The Mesquite Independent School District told students they wanted the yearbooks back, a senior said to MyFoxDFW.com, because of a "slight mistake that needs to be fixed."

The district said in a statement Friday that it wanted to honor its Special Education Program by dedicating a section to it inside the yearbook.

But Laura Jobe, a spokeswoman for the district, said a passage in the section came under question, MyFoxDFW.com reports.

It read "Some of the disabilities the students in the Special Education Program have are being blind, deaf or non-verbal … (students' names) are both blind and deaf, as well as mentally retarded."

The district declared that the section must be removed since the school did not obtain parents' permission to run photos of their students inside it -- a requirement by law --MyFoxDFW.com reports.

The school's principal plans to call and apologize to families of the special needs students. The yearbooks will be returned to students next week.

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URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-school-confiscates-yearbooks-over-section-labeling-students-mentally-retarded