7-year-old begged teacher to stop beating him in classroom ‘rage,’ Oregon lawsuit says
A mother pulled her child out of an Oregon school district after the boy’s former first grade teacher “flew into a rage” and repeatedly hit him in class last year, a new lawsuit says.
Her son was “student of the month” at Edward Byrom Elementary School in Tualatin, a city about a 10-mile drive southwest from Portland, in December 2023, when teacher Teresa Thomas is accused of beating him, according to a complaint dated Oct. 1.
Moments before the beating, the boy, who was 7 years old and has ADHD and other “documented disabilities,” was going to present to his classmates, the complaint says.
That’s when he stood up on a “wobble chair,” a stool that serves as a sensory device, and was ordered to get down by Thomas, who was then accused of attacking him, according to the complaint.
Thomas first hit him on his “lower backside” and repeatedly struck him as he begged for her to stop — and for help from his classmates — and “curled up into a ball on the floor,” the complaint says.
Thomas went to the school’s administration afterward and to report she “had ‘done something inappropriate’” and later told authorities that her “motherly instincts” were “kicking in when (the boy) was acting dangerously,” according to the complaint.
The complaint says Thomas was put on administrative leave, and now continues to teach at the school.
The boy’s mother is suing the Tigard-Tualatin School District and Thomas on multiple claims, including negligence and battery. She is seeking $1.4 million in damages.
Alex Pulaski, the school district’s interim communications director, confirmed to McClatchy News in an email on Oct. 8 that Thomas still works as a first-grade teacher at the school. He said the school district rigorously vets all staff members to make sure they’re qualified to create a safe and supportive environment before being put in a classroom.
“We cannot comment on pending litigation. The Tigard-Tualatin School District is highly invested in keeping students safe, and we take any allegations involving student well-being very seriously,” Pulaski said.
Attorney Luke Dahlin, who represents the boy and his mother, told McClatchy News via email on Oct. 8 that “this situation has been devastating to the boy and his family.”
“Parents teach their children about which adults they can trust, and this was an outrageous breach of trust that has left lasting harm on the young boy,” Dahlin added.
Mom speaks with law enforcement
The lawsuit says that Edward Byrom Elementary School didn’t report the beating to authorities or the Oregon Department of Human Services.
The boy’s mother alerted police instead and then spoke with a Tualatin police officer, who also spoke with her son and took photos of his “backside where Thomas struck him,” according to the complaint. Then the officer filed a report, the complaint says.
Tualatin Police Department Public Information Officer Jennifer Massey confirmed to McClatchy News that a report on the incident was written by the officer and forwarded to the state Department of Human Services.
Oregon DHS spokesman Jake Sunderland told McClatchy News on Oct. 10 that he was unable to confirm whether the agency received the report or launched an investigation and said “state and federal confidentiality laws regarding children are very strict.”
The complaint says that Thomas “downplayed her wrongdoing” when she spoke with school administration in December 2023, and that she called “her physical attack on (the boy) a ‘love tap.’”
According to the complaint, the boy reported she had hit him at least six or seven times before he fled from her and “cowered underneath a desk.”
Thomas is accused of ordering the boy to pick up items that had been knocked over when he tried to escape from her, the complaint says.
Before she spoke with administrative staff, she had the “stunned” classroom get in “a ‘restorative circle’ to talk about what went wrong,” according to the complaint.
The complaint notes that corporal punishment is banned in Oregon schools. It says Thomas took part in corporal punishment by causing the boy pain to discipline him.
He “has not been the same since the incident in his classroom. He no longer has an interest in school activities and has lost the childish joy of life,” the complaint says.
Dahlin told McClatchy News that “this teacher is still in the classroom with no apparent remediation, while the boy has moved schools and remains in counseling.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 1:34 PM.
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