Parents file lawsuit claiming Detroit school staff abused their children, some with special needs

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit Public Schools Community District is facing a major lawsuit after some parents say their children were physically abused by staff.

Two ex-para professionals have been fired from DPSCD, which said one of them may be facing criminal charges but the district denies it covered up the alleged abuse.

Several parents have filed the lawsuit alleging abuse of power and a cover-up of child abuse, focusing on the Moses Field Elementary School.

The lawsuit accuses the Detroit public schools and administrators of not reporting what attornies call substantiated cases of abuse to Child Protective Services and for failing to take the alleged abusers out of the school.

It also says that kids were restrained in specialized chairs meant to improve the posture of wheelchair-bound people. 

One parent claimed their child was even choked. The attorneys say that students were allowed to suffer for months all while vital information was allegedly kept from parents.

One parent is pursuing a criminal case against a school worker saying her child was even choked.

"I feel some type of way and he’s been going through a lot. He actually just had a seizure," said the mother.

"I asked my daughter after she got home from school what’s going on? (I asked) was she getting touched on and being abused? She said yes," said another mom.

The children allegedly abused are as young as 12 and even 6. 

One of the parents said their child is non-verbal. FOX 2 has been told that some of the other students also have special needs.

Two of the parents spoke today about the lawsuit.

"She'd come home twice from double-diapered, and also she'd come home with soiled pants in a bag," said parent Tanisha Floyd. "So that means someone was not even changing her. She would sit in that chair all day, and she wasn't even getting changed right."

Floyd says it wasn’t until she read in a newspaper that covered education, that she learned her young daughter was the victim of alleged child abuse connected to the Moses Field Center. 

"I was super furious because no one told me anything," she said.

There were even reported problems during student transportation.

"When talking to the cab driver, he said that school officials just would come out with the chair," Floyd said. "They wouldn’t even use her walker and the walker was there to get her stronger (with) walking. They weren’t even using it. So she started to regress."

The DPSCD released a statement saying in part:

"The District removed two paraprofessionals from Moses Field immediately once allegations of student abuse surfaced. The final investigation revealed improper conduct by both employees, one of which is facing criminal charges; both employees are no longer employed by the District.  At this point, there is no evidence that school or Central Office administration failed to report abuse against children at the school. The District is prepared to defend itself through facts in Court, if necessary."