The mother of a 7-year-old boy has filed a $350,000 lawsuit against the Tigard-Tualatin School District, claiming that the boy’s first-grade teacher struck him at least a half dozen times in front of a classroom of students to punish him for standing on a chair.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court, states that shortly after lashing out on Dec. 6, 2023, Byrom Elementary School teacher Teresa Thomas told district administrators that she “needed to turn (herself) in,” had “done something inappropriate” and described her behavior as “motherly instinct.”
The suit says Thomas was placed on administrative leave but was allowed to return to her job. Alex Pulaski, a spokesperson for the district, confirmed Thursday that Thomas is currently teaching first-grade at the school. Pulaski declined to comment about the allegations in the lawsuit because of the pending litigation and offered only a general statement.
“The Tigard-Tualatin School District is highly invested in keeping students safe, and we take any allegations involving student well-being very seriously,” said Pulaski, in an email.
Thomas didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Luke Dahlin, who along with Randy Harvey is representing the boy and his mom, said it’s “shocking” that Thomas was allowed to return to teaching and has remained there 10 months out, especially after he said Thomas told “multiple staff” that she struck the boy at least once. Oregon law doesn’t allow teachers or other staff to use corporal punishment.
The suit says the district didn’t call the police, but the boy’s mother did. Dahlin said the suit is drawing some of the information about what occurred and what Thomas said from a police report. Tualatin police spokesperson Jennifer Massey said because the police report involves a child it’s unlikely police would make it public, in a process that typically takes up to three weeks.
Thomas has not been charged criminally.
Massey said an officer investigated but didn’t forward the case to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office after “the officer did not develop probable cause for an arrest of any crime.”
State law and case law define the lowest level of assault, fourth-degree assault, as inflicting “physical injury” onto another, such as bruises that hurt a lot. The suit doesn’t describe physical injuries to the boy, but Oregon law also allows prosecutors to pursue the crime of harassment if one person has “offensive physical contact” with another, such as hitting someone without leaving behind visible injuries.
Massey, the Tualatin police spokesperson, declined to comment about why criminal charges weren’t pursued. But she said police forwarded the case to the Oregon Department of Human Services for possible investigation.
DHS investigates cases in which caregivers, including teachers, are suspected of abuse or mistreatment of students, said DHS spokesperson Jake Sunderland. Thursday, Sunderland was still looking into whether the department was able to share any information about a possible investigation into Thomas.
Records show Thomas has been licensed to teach in Oregon for 20 years. The Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, which has the ability to discipline teachers, confirmed that it is investigating the allegations against Thomas.
The lawsuit states that the boy has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The suit says on the date in question, the boy had been selected as “Student of the Month” and stood up to give a presentation on a “wobble chair,” which is a sensory chair designed to soothe children. The suit alleges that Thomas directed the boy to get down, he complied and then the teacher “flew into a rage” by striking the boy at least six times before he lost count.
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 moved some distance across the room and “cowered underneath a desk to hide” from his teacher as the boy’s “classmates stood by and watched — stunned at the sudden outburst from their teacher,” according to the suit.
The suit says Thomas “immediately knew what she did was wrong” and directed the class to join a “restorative circle” to talk about what had just happened. The suit says Thomas then asked a teacher from another classroom to watch her students and reported herself to administrators.
Dahlin and the lawsuit say the boy has suffered ongoing psychological trauma from the alleged beating, to the point that his family moved homes so he could attend a different public school district. The suit says the boy begged his mother to talk to his new teacher to ensure the teacher knew “not to lay a finger on him” and that the boy insisted he be present during that conversation to ensure that she delivered that message.
“This is something a parent should never have to deal with — hearing that their kid was struck in school,” Dahlin said. “This case is very concerning, and I think the school should have done more in this case.”
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