The parents of an autistic pupil are outraged he found and chewed two used condoms on the Trewyn School playground during PE class.

Further, the parents were not notified until two days later, when the school advised that the 9-year-old be tested for AIDS and other diseases potentially contracted from chewing the condoms.

“The thought of my son having used condoms in his mouth is despicable,” the father says. “ ... And waiting two days to tell me? That was unacceptable.”

Though the parents seek accountability for what they call lax supervision of the boy and playground, it’s unclear whether any Peoria Public Schools policies were violated. District spokesman Chris Coplan would not say whether any staff members face discipline.

The student is one of about a dozen children in his class at Trewyn, which hosts the district’s autism program. The fourth-grader is nonverbal and has a hard time sitting still for more than 10 minutes, choosing instead to flap his arms and dash about a room, his mom says. Anyplace, he tends to wander off if he spots something that catches his interest.

His parents say that at home, school and elsewhere, he needs almost constant supervision. For that reason, as well as for learning assistance, the boy was assigned a one-on-one aide. In that role, a staff member “is assigned specifically to a student and is the primary supervisor of the student,” Coplan says.

About 10:30 a.m. Sept. 12, the boy’s class went to the Trewyn playground for PE, under the supervision of a teacher, five aides and the one-on-one aid. The boy headed to a familiar spot, under the slide.

Coplan said the student “is known to climb under the play equipment and in various hidden spots on the playground. The student was seen in one of the normal hiding spots. (A) staff member approached the student and found the student with possibly two used condoms in the student’s mouth.

“The staff member removed the items from the student’s mouth immediately. The items were discarded into an outside trash can.”

At the end of the PE class, the student went back into the school with the rest of the class and continued the school day as usual.

“The staff member … did exactly as we expect our staff to do,” Coplan said.

But the boy’s mom scoffs at the school’s supervision that day.

“They let my child get not one but two condoms in his mouth?” she said. “He must’ve been so unsupervised.”

How was the student allowed to be exposed to the used condoms?

By school procedure, custodians are supposed to inspect the playground and remove any debris each day before classes start at 8:30 a.m. The father says that the school later “would neither confirm nor deny” to him whether the inspection had occurred that morning. Coplan did not specify if the playground was checked that morning, but he did say the procedure is not foolproof.

“Unfortunately, with different nooks, crannies and mulch on the playground, items are not always immediately identified or found,” he said.

The pupil’s father thinks Trewyn staff did not look hard enough. He says interlopers likely left them there either the preceding Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights, not that Monday morning.

“I don’t think there would be people out there fornicating daylight hours,” the dad says.

Further, he doubts the condoms were flung there as a prank after 8:30 a.m. that day.

“It’s a park in the back of the school,” he says. “I can’t see someone going there that morning and throwing condoms under the slide.”

The father was called to come to the school to talk about a “sensitive matter” -- but not until two days later. Minutes after the call, he arrived at Trewyn, where the principal and school school nurse told him about condom-chewing.

“That pretty much floored me,” he said.

He said that the principal and nurse offered an apology, but he became furious as he realized two days had transpired before notification.

“Waiting two days is unacceptable,” he says. “An apology does nothing. I didn’t accept the apology.”

Why the two-day lapse? Coplan says Trewyn administrators did not learn of the Sept. 12 mishap until Sept. 14, when a staffer told the nurse, who then relayed the information to the principal. Coplan did not say if that staffer was one and the same as the staffer who had removed the condoms from the boy’s month.

Coplan declined to say whether any Trewyn staff members face any discipline: “I am not at liberty to discuss personnel issues as it relates to individual employees.”

However, Coplan said the Trewyn “principal is working with all staff on communicating district guidelines to notify administration immediately upon such incidents so that the safety and health of the affected student can be addressed in a more-timely manner. Student safety is our top priority while our students are at school.”

Parents might find those “guidelines” unclear. As posted online, the district’s policies apparently include no speciifcs or timeline regarding parental notification about student injuries or medical problems. Further, though each school has a student handbook, most do not address the matter at all, while others are vague. The Trewyn handbook offers a section on “Illness/accidents at school: Any time an illness or accident occurs with a student, parents/guardians, or any other individuals on the emergency card, will be called by the student’s classroom teacher and/or office.” That policy offers no more direction, include a timeline for such a call.

Sept. 14, after learning of the condom incident, the principal ordered school custodians to the playground. “A search of the outside garbage can found at least one condom that is believed to be a discarded item from” the PE-class incident, Coplan said.

At the meeting with the father, he was advised that that boy, along with the retrieved condom, be tested for AIDS, HIV and hepatitis. The dad told the nurse to call the boy’s pediatrician to explain the school’s role in the need for the test.

“A 9-year-old goes in for an AIDS test?” the dad says. ““I didn't want his pediatrician to think it was due to my negligence.”

The tests were negative for all of the diseases. The boy’s insurance paid for the procedures, as the school did not offer to pick up the tab.

However, the boy must go in for follow-up blood test in three months. Only then will the parents know if he has contracted no disease from the Trewyn condoms.

The mom shakes her head, then says, “I’m scared. My son already has autism. Not he might have to fight a disease.”

Meantime, the parents pulled the boy from Trewyn. They have been talking to district teachers and administrators to try to place him elsewhere. However, Coplan says, the district’s autism program is offered only at Trewyn.

The mom says, “There’s no way in hell I’ll let him go back there. … I’m pretty sure he misses school. When the bus picks him up, he gets excited. And there are computers, which he likes to use.

“But now, he’s just sitting at home.”

PHIL LUCIANO is a Journal Star columnist. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, facebook.com/philluciano and (309) 686-3155. Follow him on Twitter.com/LucianoPhil.