Florida school is slammed for forcing a TWO-year-old black girl to take part in a Rosa Parks reenactment that involved white toddler ‘handcuffing her and taking her fingerprints’

• Building Brains Daycare in Osceola County has apologized over the incident
• The child’s parents called the lesson ‘horrific’ and pulled her from the school
• Civil rights group NAACP is calling on the state of Florida to investigate

A two-year-old black girl has been subjected to a ‘horrific’ Rosa Parks reenactment involving a lighter-skinned child ‘handcuffing’ her in front of her peers in a Florida preschool classroom.

Civil rights group the NAACP shared shocking photographs of the incident online as it is called on the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate Building Brains Daycare in Saint Cloud, Osceola County. 

In a letter to the department, the NAACP said the black pupil was ‘subject to an alarming act of simulation, where she was handcuffed and fingerprinted by a white peer’ in early December. 

The NAACP’s National Director of Education, Dr Ivory Toldson, shared the photographs on Facebook with the pupils’ faces blurred. In unedited versions of the images seen by DailyMail.com, the children appear visibly disturbed and upset. 

The toddler’s outraged parents described the lesson as ‘horrific’ and immediately pulled her from the school. The female teacher involved has not been named and continues to work at the daycare. 

A two-year-old black girl has been subjected to a ‘horrific’ Rosa Parks reenactment involving a lighter-skinned peer ‘handcuffing’ her in a Florida preschool classroom

Civil rights group the NAACP shared shocking photographs of the incident on Facebook as it is called on the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate Building Brains Daycare in Osceola County

In a letter to the department, the NAACP said the two-year-old pupil was ‘subject to an alarming act of simulation, where she was handcuffed and fingerprinted by a white peer’ in early December

Building Brains Daycare told DailyMail.com the reenactment was a spontaneous incident rather than a planned part of their curriculum, and that the teacher involved felt ‘horrible’ and has ‘apologized profusely’ to the child’s parents. 

They said there were ‘no physical restraints’ in the classroom. 

The toddler’s parents, who did not want to be identified, said they first became aware of the incident after seeing the photographs of their daughter through the school app. 

‘Her hands (were) restrained behind her back as if she was being taken into custody,’ they told FOX 35. 

‘Then the next image was her hands being placed on a table as if she was being booked, and the look on her face alone, it was horrific.’ 

They added that ‘there’s so many ways to teach the Rosa Parks story’ and that they saw a change in their daughter after the incident. 

‘As we were approaching the school where the incident happened, she got very quiet and very, very reserved,’ they said. ‘But then we passed it, we had our daughter back. She was bubbly.’ 

The NAACP voiced ‘deep concern and profound disappointment regarding the disturbing incident’ which it said would cause the student ‘psychological harm’ by reliving a ‘traumatic moment in American history’.

It also said in the letter it would be ‘exploring all legal avenues to address this grave matter and ensure such incidents are not repeated.’ 

The NAACP told DailyMail.com the incident was ‘egregious’ – whether physical restraints were used or not.

‘Under no circumstance is it acceptable for a two-year old child to have emotional trauma inflicted upon them at the hands of their educational institution,’ they said. 

‘Regardless of whether or not physical handcuffs were used, the Rosa Parks role-play incident that took place at Building Brains Academy is egregious. 

‘We will continue to call on this institution to release a formal apology to the family, and for the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate this incident to ensure it never occurs again. Our children deserve better.’

Building Brains Daycare told DailyMail.com the reenactment was a spontaneous incident rather than a planned part of their curriculum, and that the teacher involved felt ‘horrible’ and has ‘apologized profusely’ to the child’s parents

American civil rights activist Rosa Parks, Mug Shot, 1955

American civil rights activist, Rosa Parks (centre), riding on a newly integrated bus following a Supreme Court ruling ending the successful 381 day Montgomery bus boycott of segregated buses

Rosa Parks (center), accompanied by her attorney, Charles D. Langford (right), and an unidentified deputy, is on her way to jail- arrested on charges of violating city segregation laws which precipitated a citywide boycott by Montgomery Negroes of the city bus line

Building Brains Daycare spokeswoman Sandi Poreda told DailyMail.com the teacher ‘feels horrible’ about the incident and has ‘apologized profusely’ to the parents of the child. 

‘There was no malice or intent to harm or single out anyone or make them feel less than,’ she said. 

Poreda added that the daycare has ‘conducted a full review’ into the incident and ‘counseled’ the teacher. Disciplinary action has not been ruled out. 

In a full statement, the daycare also said: ‘In early December, one of our classes in our multicultural school was learning about the legacy of Rosa Parks and the importance of treating each other with respect and equality. 

‘In the spirit of the moment, the class spontaneously decided to act out the elements of Ms. Parks’ story, including her arrest for refusing to give up her seat at the front of the bus.

‘Unfortunately, photographs shared of the activity do not offer a complete or accurate representation of the full lesson about the importance of equal rights, nor do they make it clear that at no time were restraints of any kind used on any student.’

‘Because this activity was spontaneous and unplanned, it is not part of our authorized regular curriculum, and administration had no prior knowledge of the incident,’ they added. 

‘In light of the situation, we have advised all of our faculty that any deviations from the approved curriculum, no matter how slight or unplanned, must first be approved by school administration. 

‘We will continue ensuring our students are exposed to a curriculum that celebrates equality and diversity.’

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