A Fayette County first grader with autism was suspended after his family says he bit his sandwich into the shape of a gun and pointed it at a classmate during lunch. The March incident did not happen in a vacuum. It landed on top of a growing stack of discipline records the family says has been building since 2023, and the boy’s mother argues that school staff were not consistently following his individualized education program. The family has now brought in outside help to challenge how the school has handled his behavior.
Family and school responses
School records from Sara Harp Minter Elementary show at least 33 disciplinary actions for six-year-old John Medina since 2023, including 14 suspensions, as reported by Atlanta News First. The paperwork includes write-ups for drawing a pilgrim shooting a turkey, pointing a water bottle while making "gun" noises, and, in March, biting a sandwich into a gun shape and aiming it at a classmate.
The family says the steady drumbeat of discipline has taken a clear toll on John. They point to his IEP, which listed supports such as short walks when he became overstimulated, and say those accommodations were not consistently provided. Instead of seeing the behavior as a signal that he needed help, they argue, the school repeatedly treated it as a reason to remove him from class.
Fayette County Schools Superintendent Jonathan Patterson turned down multiple on-camera interviews but did call the reporter with a brief statement. "We just want to recognize that these things are difficult," he said, adding that the district is "committed to meeting parents to try to work through these challenging situations," according to Atlanta News First. He did not directly address the suspension tied to the sandwich incident.
Federal and state rules that matter
Under federal special education law, when a school decides to change the placement of a student with a disability for disciplinary reasons, the school team, the parents, and relevant IEP members must hold a "manifestation determination" meeting within 10 school days. A series of shorter suspensions that adds up to more than 10 school days can also trigger that requirement, according to guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.
Georgia’s special education rules line up with that framework. They require local education agencies to factor in a student’s disability, provide procedural safeguards, and offer appeal rights when discipline changes a student’s placement or affects services, as detailed in Ga. Admin. Code §160-4-7.
Why advocates say this matters
Advocates and federal data have long shown that students with disabilities are disciplined at higher rates than their peers, and experts warn that exclusionary discipline can damage both learning and overall well-being, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights guidance. Local advocacy groups in Georgia have flagged rising disputes and renewed calls for schools to follow IEPs and use behavior supports more effectively, including in recent coverage of a McDonough student suspended over a Lego "gun."
Those examples have fueled an ongoing debate over how districts enforce safety and conduct policies while still honoring their legal duty to provide the supports students with disabilities are entitled to receive.
Medina’s mother says the suspensions left her son feeling like "a bad kid," and the family wants the district to shift from punitive responses to consistent use of the accommodations already written into his plan. They have hired Donna Reynolds, a former special education director, to press the district for changes. John is expected to start second grade in August.
