Mother files lawsuit against CCSD over school bus assault

A mother has filed a lawsuit against the Clark County School District and the family of a student she says physically and verbally assaulted her son on a school bus, causing brain injuries and emotional suffering.

The complaint was filed on Monday by Natalia Montoya on behalf of her son, whom she said has autism, a hearing impairment, anxiety and panic disorders.

The complaint makes four claims of relief, two against the family of the child accused of hitting the boy and two of them against the district. It asks for $15,000 in expenses covering the emotional distress for the child of an indefinite period of time and $15,000 as punishment and deterrence of future action.

CCSD, the complaint states, had a “duty to exercise due care” for the child. It said the district failed to take necessary steps, and asks for $15,000 for physical and mental anguish.

CCSD said that it would not comment on pending litigation.

The child was a sixth grade student with an individualized learning plan (IEP) at Tarkanian Middle School on Aug. 25, 2022, when he got on a crowded school bus, with room only in the back, according to the complaint.

The document states that when he reached the back, a seventh grade student began to physically poke him. He asked the child to stop and said, “I don’t want any trouble, I just want to go home.” The seventh grader is said to have continued poking him and using vulgar language, including calling him the n-word, according to the document.

Montoya’s son is then said to have taken the seventh grader’s sunglasses, which the complaint said was in order to negotiate with the other child to stop. The document states that the alleged perpetrator hit the child, rendering him unconscious.

Other students screamed to call 911, and paramedics and CCSD police arrived at the bus stop, the document states. After CCSD questioned him, police and the paramedic suggested that the family press charges against the perpetrator, according to the complaint.

Montoya said she took her child to the emergency room the following day, where he was found to have a concussion and swelling of the brain, according to the document.

Montoya stated that she called the special education supervisor and requested her son’s IEP be modified so that he could travel on the smaller bus, as she believed he would be in danger if he had to go on the general school bus. The school told her he would need to wait one month to qualify, according to the complaint.

The bus supervisor said that she was not aware that he already had an IEP, and that drivers should know so that there could be restrictions on where he should sit on the bus. Montoya was told her son’s existing IEP dictated that he should be sitting near the front of the bus, the complaint said.

Montoya’s son was suspended for three days while the school gathered evidence, according to the complaint, which said that little was done to investigate the incident, and very limited action was taken by CCSD against the defendant.

Adam Gill, one of the attorneys representing Montoya, declined to comment on the case.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.