Liberty Hill ISD student with special needs had red hand marks around his neck, mother says

LIBERTY HILL, Texas - A Liberty Hill ISD mom is calling for more accountability after her son came home with red marks around his neck last month.

Christie Helka says her son, Mason Fulcher, was born without a part of his brain and with abnormal chromosomes.

"He functions as though he might be a year old," said Helka.

At 21 years old, he’s in his last year of the Liberty Hill ISD’s 18+ program.

Since enrolling him in the program, Helka said there have been two other incidents that have made her question his safety, but when he came home in mid-August with red marks around his throat, it was her final straw.

"Having a child with special needs that you know will never be able to live on their own, you always worry about what's going to happen to them," said Helka.

She said the district sent her a report claiming another student placed both hands around his neck from the back for about two seconds.

It said there were three paraprofessionals nearby at the time of the incident, including one who broke it up when they saw what was happening.

"Mason's very small, fragile," said Helka. "I mean anything could have happened to him. He could have died that day."

Mason's caregiver went to the school to pick him up moments after the incident.

According to the report, Helka shared with FOX 7 Austin, the district claims Mason's caregiver said it would be fine and took Mason home.

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"I know she didn't say it because she was calling me from the parking lot and questioning them on how this could happen," said Helka.

The report concludes the district found no abuse or neglect, even after contacting adult protective services.

It details protocol after an incident like this, including conducting a physical assessment with a campus school nurse.

But Helka said she was the one who took Mason to the hospital.

"He should never have been allowed to leave with a caregiver," said Helka. "The nurse should have been there to do an assessment. He probably should have gone in an ambulance."

Liberty Hill ISD gave a statement after the incident:

"The safety and wellbeing of our students is always at the forefront of our minds and our decisions. As we are not able to provide any student privacy information, we are not able to share specific details about incidents. What I can tell you is that we work very closely with our families, partnering with them to provide the best experience possible for each and every one of our students. Anytime an issue is presented, we take the matter earnestly, and work with parents, students, and staff to resolve the issue."

Helka wants to see a school board meeting with the superintendent, hoping they can work together to make the program safer for all students.

"It's so sad," said Helka. "Our kids don't have a voice, they can't tell us what's going on. We expect the school to protect them to make sure they're okay."

Liberty Hill ISD added that it has "increased our special education staff over the past few years to include a staff member who is directly over the 18+ program, and soon we are opening a new state-of-the-art facility for our 18+ students which will allow them all to be in a secured area at the same time." 

Helka said Mason has since gone back to school, but only because the district agreed to one-on-one learning. She says a committee with campus administrators and staff was also formed after the APS investigation.

The Texas Education Agency told FOX 7 Austin it received five complaints concerning matters related to Liberty Hill ISD (dating back to March 2023). Each of them were closed and determined to not fall within the jurisdiction of the agency.