Middle schooler was illegally restrained, federal suit alleges

The parents of a middle school student in the Hempfield Area School District filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that teachers restraining their son broke his foot and caused kidney damage.

The parents, who are identified only by initials, say in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that their son has pervasive developmental disorder, as well as a speech and language impairment.

The incident occurred at Harrold Middle School last year and was observed by the student’s behavior specialist consultant, Lori Mondock, who went to school with him that day, the suit says. Ms. Mondock could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit includes civil rights claims for unjustified and unreasonable force, discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Barbara Marin, the superintendent for Hempfield, said she had not been notified of the lawsuit and could not comment.

Pennsylvania State Police investigated the Feb. 3, 2016, incident, but no charges were filed.

According to the lawsuit, the sixth-grade student expected a reward when he cleaned up for morning snack that day, but the special education teacher refused, saying the boy took too long to complete the task.

The student then became fidgety, the lawsuit alleged, and he pushed an iPad from across a counter. Then, the special ed teacher physically escorted him from the room.

The principal told Ms. Mondock to follow them to the calming room so she could help the teacher. But when Ms. Mondock arrived, the teacher told her to leave. Instead, she waited outside and watched what was happening, the complaint said.

The lawsuit claims Ms. Mondock saw the teacher physically force the student face-down onto a mat on the floor. The teacher was leaning on his shoulders and had the boy’s wrists hyperextended, the complaint continued. The gym teacher assisted in the restraint, the lawsuit said.

The parents allege the teachers put their son in an illegal prone restraint and held him there.

“Mondock heard C.T. crying and repeating certain phrases throughout this restraint, including ‘just one more minute and you will let go of your arms,’ ‘let me go,’ ‘one more minute and you can go to the bathroom,’ and ‘just one more minute and you can go to lunch.’

“C.T.’s communication echoes what he wants adults to say to him,” the complaint said. “As such, C.T. was trying to communicate that he was in pain and wanted to get up.”

At some point during the restraint, the lawsuit said, the school nurse arrived, got down on the floor and asked the boy, “’Are you breathing OK?’”

At 9:20 a.m., the parents contend, the principal called the student’s mother and told her to come to the school immediately. She arrived 28 minutes later and could hear her son screaming. Looking through the door to the calming room, she saw her son had no shirt or shoes and was lying face-down with the two staff members sitting on his shoulders, the lawsuit said.

When she demanded they release him, the special ed teacher refused, the complaint continued, saying, “’No, he needs to stay in this position one more minute.’”

When she asked again, the teacher released her son.

After his mother took him home, the student later developed bruises on his wrists, feet and elbows, as well as pain and a limp in his right ankle and foot.

X-rays showed a fracture in his right foot and a bone bruise in his left wrist. He also developed testicular pain two days later, and a CT scan taken Feb. 11 showed blood in his urine, the doctor said, caused by recent trauma to his back and kidneys.

Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter: @PaulaReedWard.