A first-grade teacher in Oregon went to the school administration office to report that she had “done something inappropriate” to a student during a fit of anger.
Teresa Thomas was teaching at Edward Byrom Elementary School in Tualatin, about 10 miles southwest of Portland, when she allegedly hit a boy repeatedly while he was in class last year.
The seven-year-old’s mother pulled her son out of school after Thomas told the administration he “had to turn himself in” for his behavior.
Now, the school district along with the teacher are being sued for negligence and assault.
Thomas later described her behavior to authorities, blaming the reaction on her “maternal instincts.” The Sacramento Bee reported.
Teresa Thomas, a first-grade teacher in Oregon, went to the school administration office to report that she had “done something inappropriate” to a student after going into a rage and allegedly hitting one of her 7-year-old students. years.
The boy’s mother was the first to alert police and is now suing the Tigard-Tualatin School District and Thomas for damages related to neglect and assault, seeking $1.4 million in total.
The lawsuit also states that the school did not report the incident to the proper authorities or the Oregon Department of Human Services.
The boy, who has ADHD and other ‘documented disabilities’, was preparing to make a presentation to his classmates about his ‘student of the month’ award in December 2023. KGW8 reported.
When he stood on a “wobble chair,” a stool that also serves as a sensory device, Thomas allegedly attacked the boy after ordering him to get off.
The complaint filed Oct. 1 says the boy was hit first on the “lower buttock” continuously while he begged his classmates for help and begged his teacher to stop, The Sacramento Bee added.
Then he “curled up on the floor.”
The boy reported that his teacher had hit him at least half a dozen times before he was able to escape her grasp, where he then “hid under a desk.”
Thomas is also accused of demanding the boy pick up items he had dropped on the ground during his attempt to escape.
The 7-year-old boy was allegedly hit after standing on a “swing chair” (pictured), a stool that also serves as a sensory device for students.
The seven-year-old boy, who received the title of ‘student of the month’ last December, ‘has not been the same since the incident in his classroom,’ the complaint states. “He no longer has interest in school activities and has lost his childlike joy in life,” The Sacramento Bee reported.
The lawsuit claims that Thomas “immediately knew that what he had done was wrong,” Oregon live reported.
But before he finally decided to come clean to the administration, he put his shocked first graders in a “restorative circle” to talk about what had just happened.
She then asked another teacher to monitor her class as she reported, but allegedly “downplayed” her actions when she spoke further with school officials, claiming the beating was more of a “love blow.”
Thomas later told authorities that her “maternal instincts” kicked in after witnessing the boy acting dangerously while standing on the stool.
After alerting authorities, the boy’s mother spoke with a Tualatin police officer who took photos of his “butt where Thomas hit him” and also spoke with her son.
Jennifer Massey, public information officer for the Tualatin Police Department, confirmed to McClatchy News that the officer wrote a report about the attack and sent it to the state Department of Human Services.
Luke Dahlin, the attorney representing the boy and his mother, told McClatchy News in an email that “this situation has been devastating for the boy and his family.”
“Parents teach their children which adults they can trust, and this was an outrageous breach of trust that has left lasting damage to the young man.”
Corporal punishment (the use of physical force to cause pain in order to punish or correct a child’s behavior) was banned in Oregon public schools in 1989.
The boy’s mother was the first to alert police and is now suing the Tigard-Tualatin school district and Thomas for damages related to neglect and assault, seeking $1.4 million in total.
The state then passed a statue reaffirming the ban in 2013.
But the complaint claims that corporal punishment is the exact path Thomas took when he decided to cause pain to the boy in an attempt to discipline him.
Thomas was said to have been placed on administrative leave following the October complaint, but has since returned to the school as a full-time teacher.
Alex Pulaski, the school district’s interim communications director, said the district “rigorously vets” all of its employees before bringing them into the classroom to make sure they are qualified for the job and can provide a safe, supportive space for students. children. .
“We cannot comment on pending litigation,” Pulaski said. “The Tigard-Tualatin School District is very committed to keeping students safe and we take any allegations involving the well-being of students very seriously.”
It is not yet clear whether the Oregon Department of Human Services has launched an investigation.
“This teacher is still in the classroom with no apparent recovery, while the child has moved schools and remains in therapy,” Dahlin told McClatchy News.
Thomas has been licensed to teach in Oregon for 20 years, Oregon Live reported.
But so far she has not been criminally charged.