Mom sues Lansing schools, says autistic son abused
Federal civil lawsuit filed today names a former teacher and superintendent, among others.
LANSING — A Lansing woman filed a federal civil lawsuit today against the Lansing School District, its superintendent and a former special education teacher, among others, that alleges the former teacher abused students and the district covered it up.
Jennifer Garza filed the lawsuit on behalf of her 13-year-old son, who's referred to as C.G. in the filing, in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit demands a jury trial for damages for injury, emotional distress, medical bills and punitive damages, among others.
In the lawsuit, Garza's attorneys allege that in October 2014 Lester Duvall was working as a substitute teacher in Garza's son's classroom at Gardner Leadership, Law & Government Academy. The boy has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit disorder, according to the lawsuit.
Court's dilemma: Do home-schooled kids have to learn?
While the boy was trying to sharpen a pencil, Duvall told him to sit down, but the boy went to another pencil sharpener instead, according to the lawsuit.
Duvall "grabbed (the boy) by the arm, dragged him to the classroom door, and threw him on the floor and into a bookcase," according to the lawsuit, which adds that the boy "suffered a concussion and sustained numerous large bruises all over his body, including a black eye."
The lawsuit alleges Duvall abused students for more than a decade and the district knew about it, but only fired Duvall after the incident with Garza's son. Duvall was initially suspended without pay for three days for the incident.
'Teacher of the Year' quits when told she's unqualified
Bob Kolt, spokesman for the district, said he wasn't aware of all the details in the lawsuit but said it would be inappropriate to publicly comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit said the incident was investigated by the Lansing Police Department and Duvall was charged with fourth-degree child abuse, according to the lawsuit.
Duvall pleaded no contest in June to disorderly person-jostling and was sentenced to fines and court costs.
Check back for updates.
Bid to pay dissolved school district's debt a hard sell
Matt Mencarini is a reporter at the Lansing State Journal. Contact: 1-517-267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.