COLUMBUS, Ohio — An elementary school teacher and the Columbus City Schools Board of Education are being sued by parents of a 5-year-old boy with autism after they say the teacher allegedly assaulted him earlier this year.
The lawsuit and an internal investigation done by CCS show an incident involving the student and teacher happened at Parkmoor Elementary School on May 3.
The lawsuit alleges that the boy was sitting on the floor when his teacher tripped over him. The teacher said the boy should move, and when he didn’t, she reportedly instructed a colleague to kick him. The colleague did not kick the boy, so the teacher allegedly struck the boy, knocked him over and kicked him on the ground before picking him up and carrying him away.
District officials say that their investigation found that the child was sitting on the floor and refused to get up, so the teacher reportedly told a colleague to kick the student. The colleague would not kick the student and watched the teacher “plow” into him, the report states. The student responded by allegedly kicking the teacher in the shin, then the teacher picked him up and carried him into the office.
The teacher reportedly told Parkmoor administrators she was joking when she suggested her colleague kick the student. The teacher received a written reprimand for the incident on June 4, according to CCS records.
Although part of the altercation was captured on CCS cameras, the video does not show the teacher plowing into the student, according to the school’s internal investigation.
The family’s lawsuit claims this wasn’t the teacher’s first inappropriate behavior at Parkmoor. The teacher’s disciplinary hearing report says she was caught drinking on the job during the most recent school year, and that she made a comment saying, "don't you wish you could kick them back" when a colleague made a comment about getting “beat up” by students. Records show the teacher wasn’t formally disciplined in either instance.
“So, clearly there was a misstep within the Columbus City School District in not remedying the situation,” attorney Jared Klebanow said. He represents the child and his parents.
“We have a rightful expectation that when we send our kids to school, they’ll be first and foremost safe, but also treated with dignity and respect,” he added.
10TV is not naming the teacher at this time since she is not facing charges.