Month: September 2026

By Cheryl Fiandaca

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — A Boston mom tells the WBZ-TV I-Team she was stunned to learn her 5-year-old son, who has special needs, was being investigated for sexual harassment by Boston Public Schools after a parent alleged he pulled another child’s pants down at school.

Alanis, whose son attended Winship Elementary School, said she was never notified about the complaint when it was made shortly before classes ended in June. She said she learned about it about a month later, when she received a formal letter from Boston Public Schools Office of Civil Rights.

“He just turned 5 in February. He’s not a big boy. He’s a baby still,” Alanis said. “When I spoke to them on the phone, I’m like, ‘You’re saying s-e-x to me? A 5-year-old?’ I was like, jaw drop. I just couldn’t believe it.”

The school says another student’s parents filed a complaint that Alanis’ son pulled her child’s pants down, which prompted a Title IX investigation.

Ellen Braaten, a child psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said this type of behavior in a young child is not about sex at all.

“This was not a sexual act,” Braaten said. “A child does not do that because it’s sex. They’re doing it because they know they are going to get attention for it.”

“It makes me feel awful,” Alanis told the I-Team. “Since when are we criminalizing 5-year-olds or sexualizing 5-year-old’s age behavior? It doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s very disturbing. It’s disgusting.”

Attorney Collins Fay-Martin specializes in cases involving school districts. “It’s wild,” she told the I-Team.

Fay-Martin says the district appeared intent on conducting a full investigation despite the child’s age and developmental challenges. “He doesn’t have the cognitive capacity to be able to discern what is appropriate conduct and what is not,” Fay-Martin said. “You can tell him 500,000 times, but he’s still going to be 5 and he’s still going to do what 5-year-olds do, which is why it’s incumbent upon adults in the room to have eyes on kids at all times.”

School staff emails obtained by the I-Team appear to raise questions about whether the alleged incident occurred at all. In one email a staff member wrote, “I did not witness any incident.” Another said, “No, this did not occur … in my classroom.”

Alanis told the I-Team her son has an individualized education program, or IEP, and struggles with impulse control.

“If a child has an IEP and one of the issues is impulse control, there should be adequate supervision within the classroom,” Braaten told the I-Team. “When we’re talking about a 5-year-old, the person who’s really responsible or the system that’s responsible is the school system.”

After the I-Team contacted Boston Public Schools, the district said the matter was now an informal investigation and that it was working toward a resolution.

In a statement, BPS said:

“In this case, there is no punitive investigation. That would not be productive. Both children are in school. BPS is working to resolve the matter through an informal process, without any discipline, focused on delivering supports to help the children succeed in school this year. We are also taking this as an opportunity to improve communication with families.

While BPS is required by law to investigate all complaints, as a school system both the review and any resolution should be age and developmentally appropriate and focused on supporting families and helping all children learn and thrive in school. That’s particularly true with young children who are still learning about behavior.”

Fay-Martin says, “Dumb things happen in schools all the time, right? This is probably one of the most wild just because you would think the logic would prevail. Logic has not prevailed.”

Alanis has refused to allow her son to return to Winship Elementary School this fall, saying she had lost confidence in the administration and its ability to support her child.

“He’s still a baby. He doesn’t know any better. We should be redirecting these kids. A kid who has impulsivity issues, come on now,” Alanis said. “That’s so much redirection, so much redirection. But it’s like, you chose that career. You’ve got to be patient. You’ve got to be patient with these kids.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Darrielle Fair

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    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KPIX) — A California bill that would expand organized sports programs in state prisons is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk after receiving unanimous support from lawmakers.

Assembly Bill 2204, known as the Second Chance Sports Act, would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a statewide policy for organized sports in state prisons.

The legislation passed the Senate 39-0, with one senator not voting, and the Assembly later voted 79-0 to concur with Senate amendments.

The bill was authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), with Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) listed as a coauthor.

Gabriel said he was inspired by existing sports programs inside California prisons, including the San Quentin Giants baseball program.

“It just became clear to me that this was something that could be tremendously powerful, both for rehabilitation and for public safety,” Gabriel said.

What the bill would do Under AB 2204, the CDCR would be required to formalize a policy on organized sports programming by Jan. 1, 2028.

The policy would be developed in consultation with researchers, sports and rehabilitation experts, criminal justice organizations, athletic organizations, correctional staff and organizations representing incarcerated people and their families.

The legislation would establish the Second Chance Sports Fund within the state Treasury.

The bill would remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2036.

Supporters say organized sports can provide structure, teamwork, accountability and opportunities for people in prison to develop skills that can help with rehabilitation and re-entry.

“Many of the things that people look for in gangs, they get out of sports,” said Jacob Brevard, chief of programs for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. “The camaraderie, the family atmosphere, the feeling of belonging to something.”

Brevard said sports also helped him learn to interact with people from different cultures and handle “heated situations without losing my cool.”

San Quentin Giants inspire legislation The San Quentin Giants have become one example of how organized sports can operate inside a California prison.

The baseball program has received support from the San Francisco Giants and allows incarcerated participants to play against one another as well as outside teams and organizations.

Gabriel said learning about the program convinced him that similar opportunities could be expanded to other correctional facilities.

“I was just really moved by what I read,” Gabriel said.

He said sports can teach discipline and give participants a sense of responsibility to their teammates.

“I think for anybody who has had any exposure to sports, participated in sports, been a coach, been an athlete, sports teaches you discipline,” Gabriel said. “It teaches you the opportunity to work with teammates and have people that you’re accountable to and that can rely on you.”

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto legislation that reached his desk this session.

Gabriel said he has spoken with Newsom about the bill but has not received a definitive answer about whether the governor plans to sign it.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Raymond Strickland, Alan Wheeler

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    Philadelphia (KYW) — Amid growing privacy concerns, leaders in Philadelphia are asking Pennsylvania to put guardrails in place for Flock cameras and other license plate readers.

Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution Thursday calling for the state to ban or regulate automatic license plate readers, also known as ALPRs.

The cameras, which can track cars and store license plate information, have been at the center of controversy due to privacy concerns.

City council members criticized the cameras and an ALPR company called Flock after reports of police officers misusing the database to spy on and stalk people who weren’t involved in a crime.

Councilwoman Rue Landau introduced the resolution. She said Flock and other ALPR companies need to be regulated.

“We are very quickly giving up our civil liberties under this theory of safety, but we are watching that it’s not making us safe. It’s actually surveilling us,” she said.

Before the vote on the resolution, community members weighed in.

“The cameras are a tool that our law enforcement can use to catch people that are stealing cars,” said one man during the public comment period.

Another speaker said, “Your journey today from your home to this hall has been painstakingly documented without your permission, and there is nothing that you can do about it.”

Philadelphia police said the department does not use Flock but confirmed it has 137 license plate readers across the city. The department said some of its vehicles also have the technology.

Pennsylvania State Police also said they do not operate Flock cameras, but a spokesperson did not specify whether the department uses other license plate readers.

Temple Police did not respond to our questions.

In response to the criticism and calls for a ban, a spokesperson with Flock said in a statement, “A blanket ban would take a proven investigative tool away from communities and officers who rely on it.”

A Flock spokesperson also said the company supports and would welcome bipartisan legislation to regulate the use of the cameras.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.