3 more families to sue Baltimore City schools over special needs students who left campus
Three more families are planning to sue Baltimore City schools, after they said their special needs children left campus without teachers noticing, putting their safety at risk.
The new lawsuits come a week after the family of a 6-year-old announced a lawsuit, claiming their son left Fallstaff Elementary School and was found wandering on Reisterstown Road. The family said the fifth grader left during a transition period, crossed the busy road, and was found in a Five Below store last year.
Baltimore City Public Schools officials shared the following statement:
"We never want any child or family to have a negative or traumatic experience at school, and we understand the concern this litigation may cause for students, families, and the broader school community. The trust families place in City Schools to care for and support their children is something we take very seriously. That is why we have safeguards in place to promote student safety, especially for our students with disabilities.
We will continue to cooperate fully with the legal process, but because this is an active legal matter, we are limited in what we can say publicly at this time."
Additional families intend to sue
In announcing the three additional lawsuits Thursday, attorney Thiru Vignarajah said that what was initially assumed to be an isolated incident now appears to be a "disturbing pattern."
According to Vignarajah, one of the families said their 7-year-old autistic child left Furley Elementary School and got onto an MTA Bus. The student was tracked with an Apple AirTag that the family provided.
The second family reported that their high school-aged child was seriously assaulted after leaving the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE), according to Vignarajah.
A third family said their 10-year-old was involved in a similar incident as the 6-year-old at Furley Elementary earlier in May.
According to Vignarajah, all three of the students are autistic and were supposed to be getting specialized care for their needs.
"Our schools are supposed to be sanctuaries for our most vulnerable, not a starting line for a citywide game of hide-and-seek," Vignarajah said. "Parents should not need search parties, Ring cameras, and AirTags to do the job our schools are supposed to do."
