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The teacher and school district at the center of a disturbing video that surfaced in May is being sued by 11 families in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court.
The teacher named in the complaint was seen verbally abusing and mocking several special needs students in a second-grade classroom at Carver Elementary School in Santa Ana.
The lawsuit alleges that the Santa Ana Unified School District and teacher Maylin Hsu were responsible for subjecting the students to “neglect, verbal abuse, humiliation, emotional trauma, intimidation, assault, and verbal intimidation.”
Sue, a special education teacher, was seen slamming scissors on her desk and yelling at students.
Another video, also provided by a lawyer representing the family, showed a teacher taunting a nonverbal student inches from his face and yelling at him to be quiet.
“My first thought was that the kids would bully her,” Alma Moreno said of her daughter, who has severe autism. “I never thought she would be bullied by teachers and staff.”
Families say the disturbing video, likely recorded accidentally on the student’s iPad, is just a snapshot of the abuse, bullying and ridicule of nonverbal, autistic and special needs children. I am doing it. Parents said Sue’s classroom abuse had left their children traumatized.
Jennifer Zuniga explained her son’s behavior: “Right now he’s hitting his head a lot and screaming.”
“The school district put her in a classroom where the children couldn’t speak for themselves,” said Eran Zechzer, an attorney representing the family.
The lawsuit also names Amergis Healthcare Staffing, which it says was the company that provided the aide to the teacher who was seen laughing at the alleged abuse in one of the videos.
In a statement to NBCLA, the Santa Ana Unified School District wrote:
Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is aware of the lawsuit filed and discussed at today’s press conference. We recognize the seriousness of the allegations made regarding the conduct of one of our employees, which are extremely concerning and contrary to the standards we uphold as a school district.
The safety and well-being of our students remains our top priority and we are committed to addressing this issue with transparency and accountability. Although this matter is currently the subject of active litigation and we are limited in what we can share, we will thoroughly investigate the incident and take appropriate steps to ensure accountability and student safety. We want to assure our community that we continue to take steps.
“We understand that this situation has a significant impact on our students, families, and the broader community, and we are committed to ensuring that all students are provided with a safe, inclusive, and nurturing educational experience. Is SAUSD putting students at risk? We will not tolerate any behavior that causes harm to our children.” We work diligently to ensure safety and maintain the highest standards of professionalism and care, and we are committed to addressing concerns, supporting affected families, and providing support to schools. We will continue to work to strengthen the trust of our customers. ”
NBCLA has reached out to Hsu for comment.
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