Las Vegas substitute teacher accused of hitting student with a shoe

A substitute teacher is accused of hitting a nonverbal teenager with a shoe, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed March 21 in District Court by Vanessa Valladares and Michael Saavedra on behalf of their child, who is referred to as M.S. in the complaint. The defendants are the Clark County School District and Carole Riordan, whom the lawsuit said was the student’s teacher at the time of the alleged incident.

The complaint accuses Riordan of hitting an autistic, nonverbal 13-year-old in seventh grade at Molasky Junior High School, with a shoe — three times on his forearm and twice on his hand in October 2023.

Riordan denied the incident. She told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that CCSD had dropped an older investigation into the alleged incident when she had proved she was not in the room.

She said that she was in the nurse’s office with another student at the time.

“I’m positive it didn’t happen,” Riordan said Monday. “I don’t hit kids.”

In response to questions about the lawsuit and any prior investigations, CCSD said it did not comment on pending litigation.

“I find it very interesting and curious that she would say that,” Gregg Hubley, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said of Riordan’s denial.

Hubley provided a CCSD report, written by the assistant principal, that describes the alleged incident.

The lawsuit also accuses Riordan of having a history of “unlawful aversive interventions against students,” and that CCSD “was aware, or reasonably should have been aware, of this history.”

The complaint states that the school district did not have a timely investigation, nor did it punish Riordan.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.