Two Richland 1 students were assaulted in school, including one by a teacher, lawsuits say
The parents of two Richland District 1 students say their children were physically assaulted in their schools, leaving one with potentially a lifetime of mental issues and the other temporarily unable to breathe, according to separate lawsuits.
The filings in Richland County court accuse the district of gross negligence in the supervision and treatment of a special needs student at Columbia High School and a special education student at Hand Middle School.
Richland 1 declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The Columbia High School student was “physically hurt and beaten” while unlawfully left unsupervised by a teacher in October 2021, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 9, 2023. The student’s teacher, teacher’s aide and Columbia High School administration failed to protect them, the lawsuit said.
Richland 1 should have known that the employees “posed a serious threat of abuse and physical, mental, and emotional harm” to the students of Columbia High School, according to the lawsuit, which does not say specifically who attacked the student.
The lawsuit alleged that the incident arose from Richland 1’s “grossly negligent” failure to supervise and control its employees, the “reckless” hiring and retention of personnel and its careless supervision of classrooms.
According to the lawsuit, the district failed to recognize that the “conduct, acts, and/or omissions of the agent and/or employees involved an enhanced risk of harm to the student.”
The lawsuit did not provide details of the alleged beating, but contends that the victim still suffers physical pain, emotional distress and “impairment of their enjoyment of living.” The student will likely continue to suffer emotional distress, anxiety and “mental anguish” for the rest of their life, the lawsuit said, and has already incurred “substantial” medical, hospital and psychiatric expenses.
After the incident, Richland 1 kept the responsible teachers and teacher’s aides as employees, according to the lawsuit, and kept information about the incident secret.
Attorney Darryl Caldwell, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the student and their parent, could not be reached for comment.
A second lawsuit filed against Richland 1 this month alleges that a “special education” student at Hand Middle School was “inappropriately restrained.”
In October 2021, the student — who was diagnosed with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had an individualized education plan, or IEP — was “inappropriately restrained” when a classroom instructor placed their weight on top of the student, according to the lawsuit.
The instructor’s weight was so heavy, the lawsuit said, that the student was unable to breathe in the moment, and was not allowed to immediately get up. The lawsuit claims the incident damaged the student physically and emotionally.
The lawsuit called the district, its staff and administrators “grossly negligent” in failing to train its staff, properly supervise the student and failing to respond to notice of the “alleged problems” stemming from the instructor’s conduct. The lawsuit did not provide more details of the conduct.
“Richland One and Hand Middle School are failing students and parents, plain and simple,” said Matt Williams, the attorney representing the student. “Parents are being kept out of the loop, bullying is tolerated, IEPs are being ignored, and excessive force is seemingly being used as a regular disciplinary tactic.”
An IEP, or individualized education plan, ensures that an elementary or high school student with an identified disability receives specialized instruction and related services, according to the University of Washington.
Williams said Hand Middle School filed a police report against the child and treated her “like a criminal,” but her mother wasn’t made aware of it until she filed her own police report against the teacher.
“In what world should a middle school be filing a police report against a 12-year-old student? We’re working to hold the district accountable for what has become a toxic culture, absent of accountability,” Williams said.
This story was originally published October 30, 2023 at 2:45 PM.
