A Seattle special education teacher, currently on paid leave while being investigated for child abuse, has been elected as the next president of the Seattle Education Association. Ibijoke Idowu-Holiday secured over 58% of the vote, even as Seattle Public Schools confirmed she remains the subject of an active investigation.
The allegations against Idowu-Holiday involve a “partially verbal” third-grade student with autism at Rising Star Elementary. According to a complaint reported by The Seattle Times, the student’s parents discovered bruises on the boy’s arm last October.
The parents stated their son identified Idowu-Holiday as the cause through the use of visual aids. Additionally, the complaint alleges a therapist witnessed the teacher throw a marker at the student’s head in December.
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Seattle Public Schools chief of staff Rev Redmond confirmed via email that Idowu-Holiday has been on paid leave since December. While the Seattle Police Department sent a statutory referral to the King County prosecutor’s office on May 6, spokesperson Casey McNerthney noted that such referrals are typically made when police “do not believe they have evidence for prosecutors to charge a crime.”
Idowu-Holiday’s supporters have pushed back against the allegations. Several parents of “black and brown” children told local media that their students experienced “nothing but kindness, love and educational rigor” in her classroom.
The president-elect is a well-known figure in the region for her activism. During the 2020 George Floyd protests, she was identified as a primary organizer of demonstrations in Renton and West Seattle. At the time, reports described her leading marches with a megaphone to “call out each business that did or did not stand up for Black Lives Matter.”
The Seattle Education Association has not issued a formal statement regarding the status of their newly elected leader or the ongoing investigation. Idowu-Holiday has not provided a direct comment on the allegations.
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