SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Taping a student to a desk does not constitute neglect or abuse, the Utah Court of Appeals has ruled.
The ruling overturns a 2nd District Court ruling that said the teacher's actions were a "serious incident of psychologically destructive behavior," The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Court documents did not name the teacher involved, the newspaper said.
The teacher appealed the 2nd District Court ruling and the appellate judges determined the statutory definition of neglect used by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services in the district court can't be read to include emotional mistreatment.
"The evidence is insufficient to prove abuse," the appeals judges wrote in their ruling.
The case started in October 2007 when DCFS received a report a teacher had physically abused an unidentified student in her third-grade class.
The teacher admitted to using plastic tape for a period of two minutes to restrain the third-grade student from disrupting class. UPI
