A lawsuit alleges that a Virginia school bus monitor faced no disciplinary actions for assaulting a student with special needs, despite the school district reviewing footage of the incident.
The lawsuit filed earlier this month accuses the Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) bus monitor, as well as the driver of the bus and the district's school board, of "gross negligence" and "willful and wanton conduct."
According to the civil complaint obtained by Crisis in the Classroom (CITC), the 9-year-old child, who is referred to as "Z.M.," was physically assaulted and verbally ridiculed while coming home from the Center for Autism at Kiln Creek Elementary School in September.
Patti Washington, the bus monitor, allegedly struck Z.M. in the face before telling him twice that "she wished she could 'whip his tail.'" Z.M. then allegedly removed all clothing from the lower half of his body and ran around the school bus.
According to the complaint, neither Washington nor bus driver Deborah Richardson attempted to stop Z.M. and put his clothes back on. They then allegedly let Z.M. exit the bus at his stop while still naked from the waist down.
Z.M. was immediately greeted by his father, who the lawsuit claims was not welcomed onto the bus to help Z.M. get dressed.
The lawsuit claims that the incident, along with other alleged examples of misconduct by Washington, was captured on video and reviewed by the NNPS school board.
Pathetically, however, [the NNPS school board] merely issued a warning to [Washington and Richardson,] and both have been employed by [NNPS] with pay and in charge of students ever since," the complaint reads.
The NNPS school board allegedly acknowledged in a letter that Washington's conduct was a "direct violation" of district policies.
Kenneth Murov, one of the attorneys representing Z.M., says the child "suffered significant harms and losses" due to NNPS's "utter disregard for the safety of students."
The lawsuit claims that Z.M. has experienced various examples of physical and emotional distress since the incident, including "post-traumatic stress disorder" and "loss of enjoyment of life."
The lawsuit states that Z.M.'s family is seeking $15 million in compensatory damages, as well as "other relief as justice may require."
A spokesperson for NNPS told CITC that both the district and school board are unable to comment on the lawsuit.
"The school division remains committed to ensuring the well-being and care of all students," the spokesperson told CITC in a statement.