Suit Against LAUSD Claims Teacher Abused Student Because He Is Black, Has Disabilities
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) -- A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Unified School District claiming a principal took no action following the verbal and physical abuse of a student.
According to the mother of the student identified as K.D., who is Black, the boy's race and speech and language impairment contributed to his alleged mistreatment by his White preschool teacher during the 2019-2020 school year.
The suit names the LAUSD, teacher Roberta Brandt and principal Haywood Thompson, who are both employed at 54th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles.
"Ms. Brandt was allowed to emotionally and physically torment K.D. because he could not speak up for himself and because Principal Thompson and LAUSD did nothing to protect him,'' the suit said.
The suit said Brandt has violently shaken the then 4-year-old boy, forced him to take his nap unsupervised outside in the dirt while other students slept inside, and pushed for his mother to get him to another school due to the behavioral problems she encountered.
Brandt allegedly admitted to not having extensive experience with special needs students and was not as violent with students who were not Black or disabled, the suit said.
K.D.'s mother later enrolled her son in a different school.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and alleges the student was a victim of battery, assault, negligence and civil rights violations.
An LAUSD representative said in a statement that the district "has not been served with this lawsuit, so we have no comment."
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
