POMONA >> A class-action lawsuit alleges that the school district allowed the physical and emotional abuse of at least two autistic students.
The Disability Rights Legal Center and Los Angeles law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The suit alleges that Pomona Unified officials and staff violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the alleged victims’ civil rights through a cover-up of abuse.
“The abuse has occurred since at least August 2013, and no effort has been shown to adequately protect plaintiff students from the continued abuse,” the suit reads in part. “Unfortunately, due to the nature of their disabilities, Plaintiffs J.V. and B.K. are unable to adequately answer questions regarding what happened to them or describe events which occurred in their classroom.”
According to the suit, the 9- and 12-year-old boys’ autism makes it difficult for them to communicate. But both boys allegedly suffered scratches, cuts, bruises and even lost teeth while in the care of educators.
The suit names Pomona Unified, the Pomona Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA), which oversees the education of local special education students, along with district Superintendent Richard Martinez, the district’s director of special education, a special education coordinator, the principals of both schools attended by the boys, teachers, instructional aides and a health services assistant.
“Defendants failed to adequately document these acts, failed to adequately report these acts, and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent further abuse,” according to the suit.
“It’s a perfect storm of problems,” said Elizabeth Eubanks, Inland Empire regional director of the Disability Rights Legal Center. “When we first heard from J.V.’s mom, it prompted several other families to come forward, all of whom had similar concerns.”
In addition to the injuries themselves, the suit also alleges the district failed to explain what had happened to the children in a timely fashion.
“These really serious things happened and the amount of information the parents got was basically nothing,” Eubanks said.
The child who lost a tooth was allegedly restrained in a dangerous fashion and it took a speech therapist to intervene.
“They were holding all four of his extremities, and that’s a very dangerous way to hold a child. … It can restrict his breathing area and cause a lot of harm,” Eubanks said.
The physical abuse allegedly suffered by both students led to emotional problems and the loss of previously learned skills, and the boys have been prescribed anxiety and sleep aid medication, according to the DRLC.
Eubanks blamed the incidents on a lack of training for employees working with the seriously disabled.
“Some students with disabilities have certain behaviors that require a level of training from the staff to know how to deal with these behaviors,” she said. “If there has to be some sort of intervention, it should be the least intrusive possible, and only in the most extreme cases.”
The ultimate goal, she said, would be for the parents to be able to return their sons to the schools and know they’ll be learning in a safe and healthy environment.
“The most important thing in this lawsuit for us is that we make a systemic change. We see this as a larger problem than something that happened in a single classroom or in a single school,” Eubanks said. “Improve the training, improve the accountability, improve the transparency so it’s a safer place for students to learn.”
The class action suit only names two children, but Eubanks said more affected families are out there in Pomona.
“There was a good number of families we spoke to pre-filing who were concerned about having their child named in the suit,” she said. “They were worried about retaliation. … The things we’ve heard from families we’ve communicated with have been very, very consistent.”
The lawsuit comes after discussions between the DRLC and the district earlier this year failed to produce results, according to Eubanks.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise” to the district, Eubanks said.
“We care deeply about each one of our students, including our students with special needs, and remain steadfastly dedicated to ensuring their safety and well-being,” Darren Knowles, Pomona Unified’s assistant superintendent of human resources, is quoted as saying in a news release issued Thursday evening. “We take very seriously any allegation against Pomona Unified staff and have zero tolerance for misconduct that violates the trust and safety of our students and families.
“Although we have not yet been formally served with the lawsuit, we are investigating these complaints. When allegations such as these are made, we place employees on administrative leave, as appropriate, pending the outcome of our investigation. Because this is an open investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
