Garland ISD hit with special ed abuse lawsuit for second time in months
Garland ISD lawsuit claims abuse against SPED student
A family is suing Garland ISD with allegations that their special-needs son was physically abused by his teacher. This is the second lawsuit filed against the district, and a special ed teacher, within the last few months.
GARLAND, Texas - A family is suing Garland ISD with allegations that their special-needs son was physically abused by his teacher.
This is the second lawsuit filed against the district, and a special ed teacher, within the last few months.
Garland ISD special ed lawsuit
Davis Elementary School
What we know:
This latest alleged incident happened on Sept. 18. A parent at Davis Elementary School said he noticed his son had blood on his shirt and scratches on his arms.
The dad said school surveillance video he watched confirmed his worst fears.
The legal team representing the father of the 6-year-old special-needs student held a news conference outside the school Friday, claiming the boy was physically assaulted by his teacher.
Trujillo Gonzalez Law Firm attorney Rachel Verich said at the conference that there are two surveillance videos yet to be obtained by the firm. The attorney said the first was filmed in the classroom, and the second in the school's gym.
Davis Elementary School
According to the lawsuit filed against the teacher and the district, the first video, viewed by the father, showed the teacher:
"Grab M.A. by the arms and violently push his head against a chair."
The second video shows:
"M.A. in the school gymnasium (where the teacher reportedly) walks up to M.A. grabs him by the arms and slams him against the wall. This physical assault was completely unprovoked."
Suing for emotional distress
The father says the principal watched the videos with him, and was shocked and appalled by what she saw, but also told him she could not release copies of the videos.
The family is suing for emotional distress. They also want Garland ISD to better vet and train its teachers.
What they're saying:
"We do have photos we mentioned before that shows scratch marks on his arms and that he had a bloody T-shirt," Verich said.
Last month, another Garland ISD parent filed a lawsuit against the district and her autistic son's special ed teacher's aide.
Ex-Garland ISD teacher’s aide accused of assaulting special needs student; family files lawsuit
The family of a special needs child in Garland is pursuing legal action over an alleged classroom assault. The teacher's aide who is accused of shoving the child and grabbing his neck was arrested and is no longer employed by the school district.
Sarah Broome says her 14-year-old son, Jace Broome, was allegedly attacked by the now-former teacher's aide, 40-year-old Rosa Mendiola at Webb Middle School. She was charged with misdemeanor assault. The same law firm is representing both families.
Rosa Mendiola
"We're trying to show that there's a systemic issue at Garland ISD assaults on special needs students," Verich said.
"I can assure the public that once we obtain copies of those videos, I'm confident we will be releasing them to the public, because I think the public needs to know what's happening at Garland ISD," said Trujillo Gonzalez Law Firm attorney James Trujillo.
The other side:
In response, Garland ISD said it "cannot comment on pending litigation, but we ensure that all policies and procedures are being followed and we are committed to the safety of all students."
The Source: Information in this article comes from FOX 4 coverage at a Garland ISD campus.