PORTLAND, Ore. — The mother of a 7-year-old child has filed a lawsuit against the Tigard-Tualatin School District, claiming that the boy’s teacher repeatedly struck him as punishment for standing on a chair.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court, claims that on Dec. 6, 2023, first-grade teacher Teresa Thomas “flew into rage” and hit the boy at least six times before he lost count. Thomas described her behavior as “motherly instinct,” the suit said.
The boy had been awarded “Student of the Month.” As he was preparing to present to the class about his award, he stood up on a “wobble chair,” which is designed as a sensory device to soothe children. According to the lawsuit, the boy had documented attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Thomas ordered the boy to get off the chair, and he complied according to the complaint. But Thomas allegedly hit the boy, striking him on his lower backside.
The boy “curled up into a ball on the floor, pleading for Thomas to stop, and pleading for his classmates to help him,” the suit claims. He then went and “cowered underneath a desk to hide” from his teacher as the boy’s classmates stood and watch “stunned” at the sudden outburst from their teacher, according to the suit.
After that, Thomas reported to district administrators that she had “done something inappropriate” and what she did was “wrong” and that she “needed to turn (herself) in,” the suit said.
Later, Thomas allegedly downplayed the incident when talking with district administrators, saying it was a “love tap.” Thomas was placed on administrative leave but was later restored to her original teaching position, according to the suit.
The Tualatin-Tigard School District confirmed Friday that Thomas is still teaching first grade at the school.
According to the suit, the boy, with his mother present, talked with the school’s principal following the incident, but “believed he was in trouble, so he did not disclose all that had happened.”
The suit says that the district did not call the police, but the boy’s mother did. Authorities interviewed the boy at his home the following evening, though according to the suit the boy still believed he was in trouble and did not share much detail.
The boy’s mother has since transferred him to a new school district, the suit said. She is seeking $350,000 for negligence and abuse.
