Lawsuit claims Salem-Keizer not doing enough to protect staff from students with violent behaviors

SALEM, Ore. (KPTV) - A new legal filing claims many employees at Salem-Keizer Public Schools have had a student harm them or at least try to.

The lawsuit details claims by five current or former employees at Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Each say they’ve been hurt by a student who has a tendency of violent behaviors, and those staff members are not alone.

The lawsuit says in a survey of more than 1,200 employees, more than half reported a student tried to harm them or others in the last year. The district has more than 5,000 employees.

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One of the five plaintiffs in the suit is Stacy McEwen, who teaches first grade at Wright Elementary School. McEwen says in February of this year a student slapped and punched her in the face while screaming. She says she was not able to properly restrain the student because she was not trained by the district prior on how to do so.

McEwen claims the student did not receive any consequences following the attack.

The plaintiffs claim the attacks are regular occurrences. Michelle Pucket, another plaintiff, estimates that within the past six months, she’s been injured by students between eight and 12 times.

The overall consensus from all five plaintiffs is that the district is not doing enough to protect its staff and prevent these incidents from happening.

FOX 12 reached out to the district for comment on the lawsuit. The district sent a statement, saying:

“The district has received and reviewed the March 17, 2023 Tort Claim Notice on behalf of some current and former employees based on student-related injuries. The district is concurrently balancing employees’ safety with state and federal legal requirements for the education of students with disabilities.

In response to student needs, the district added a self-contained K-2 classroom this school year. The district is also actively working to get a youth day treatment facility in Marion County, which currently does not have one.

Regarding training for classified and licensed staff, staff who work in our specialized classrooms are trained in Mandt de-escalation and if needed restraint protocols. All administrators, behavior coaches, and behavior cadre are also trained in Mandt. General education teachers and staff are trained in Mandt as needed to support students with complex behaviors.

This year, the district also added Ukeru training on top of Mandt for some staff. Ukeru is a new protocol that emphasizes trauma informed processes, intervention and de-escalation without restraint. This training and equipment have been provided specifically to targeted classrooms.”

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