A teenage student is suing the Simsbury school system, claiming he was seriously injured by classmates in middle school when long-running bullying escalated from racist taunts to physical violence.
The student alleges that he sustained a broken jaw and concussion when multiple other students attacked him in a hallway at the Henry James Memorial School two years ago.
The boy and his father contend in the lawsuit that Simsbury educators were negligent because they failed to supervise the alleged attacker and his friends, while also failing to protect the victim despite previous signs that he might be at risk.
Superintendent Matt Curtis and school board attorney James Williams did not reply Thursday afternoon to a request for comment. Typically, governmental agencies don’t address lawsuit allegations outside of the courtroom.
The lawsuit uses the pseudonym John Smith for the alleged primary attacker and doesn’t name other students involved or specific staff members. Attorney Maximiliano Zayas, who represents the plaintiff’s family, couldn’t be reached for comment.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff was harassed at Henry James Memorial School toward the end of the 2023-24 school year. The bullying consisted of verbal taunts at first, it said.
“For sometime prior to May 16, 2024 during school hours, John Smith, would call the minor plaintiff names including but not limited to ‘monkey,’ would tell the minor plaintiff to go back to where he came from, and telling the minor plaintiff to go back to his country,” the suit contends. “The name calling and racial attacks were not a onetime event. John Smith would verbally attack the minor plaintiff whenever John Smith was in the minor plaintiff’s presence.”
The suit doesn’t say whether that was reported to administrators. But it contends that on May 16, 2024 the conflict grew physical when the plaintiff was in a music composition class with the alleged attacker.
“During that class John Smith began saying mean things to the plaintiff,” making fun of his cultural heritage, using racial slurs and making fun of his appearance, it said.
“John Smith progressed his attacks from verbal to physical by throwing objects at the plaintiff while in the classroom,” it said.
The suit contends the substitute teacher running the class did not report that to the front office or the school “climate specialist,” an administrator who is designated as the primary staff member for dealing with bullying.
“The substitute teacher did not send or take John Smith to the administrator’s office,” the suit claims. “The substitute teacher made the plaintiff sit in the hallway right outside of class for the duration of the class period.”
While the boy was in the hallway, Smith and friends threw things at him — and the substitute teacher still didn’t intervene, according to the suit.
“For the duration of the class, the plaintiff endured being hit by flying objects that John Smith and his friends were throwing,” according to the suit. “The plaintiff realized that John Smith and his friends were progressively becoming more violent.”
The boy feared they’d escalate the attack, and tried to get away, it said.
“When the class bell rang, the plaintiff tried to quickly get to his next class to avoid being beaten up,” it said. “While on his way to his next class, John Smith and another student caught up to the plaintiff and proceeded to physically attack the plaintiff.”
The suit contends that in addition to a broken jaw and concussion, the boy sustained a cervical injury and severe emotional distress. Since then he has suffered headaches and post-concussion symptoms, it claims.
The boy’s family contends the school system’s negligence was to blame.
“The schools, their administrators, teachers and staff are required to supervise the conduct of its students while on the schools’ campuses,” the suit contends. “The schools, their administrators, teachers and staff are required to follow the (Simsbury schools’) Bullying Prevention and Intervention Policy.”