Family sues San Juan Unified School District: Student was ‘viciously attacked,’ filing states
A former student of El Camino Fundamental High School and their mother have filed a lawsuit against San Juan Unified School District where they report that staff failed to stop physical assault.
The student, who was in the 10th grade and no longer attends the high school, was bullied, harassed and threatened with physical violence by their classmate in 2023, states the lawsuit, which was filed in February. On March 16, the student was “viciously attacked,” and thrown to the cement by their classmate, the lawsuit states.
“The assault caused by Defendants negligence resulted in significant injuries to Plaintiff, including but not limited to bruising on her face and a concussion,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff also suffers severe anxiety and emotional damage from the assault.”
Prior to the altercation, ongoing harassment from the student’s classmate was reported to school employees, who later met with the classmate, according to the lawsuit. The student and their classmate were told to stay away from one another through a “stay-away/no-contact” agreement, that the student signed.
The Sacramento Bee refrains from naming minors unless the individual is formally charged with a serious crime. The lawyer representing the student and their mother did not immediately respond to an interview request.
San Juan Unified failed to enter the agreement into their system, according to the lawsuit, and did not inform anyone of the agreement besides the vice principal.
Ten days after the agreement was signed, the student was approached by their classmate and was attacked, according to the lawsuit. There were no teachers or yard monitors present at the time.
El Camino Fundamental High School did not call an ambulance or seek medical attention for the child, the lawsuit states. The student’s mother said she was not called in a “timely manner” to report her child’s injury. She later brought the student home from school after she reported severe head pain and seeing spots.
The student was later sent to the emergency room where she had a CT scan. The lawsuit said the scan showed soft tissue swelling around the eye.
The student felt unsafe being at the same school as their attacker, according to the lawsuit. After the assault, the parent transferred their child to a new school.
About one week after starting at their new school, the student learned their attacker was transferring to the same school, the lawsuit states. The parent repeatedly called both the new school and San Juan Unified before the district placed the other student in a different school.
“Creating and maintaining safe learning environments for students and staff is a top priority for all of us in San Juan Unified.” said Raj K. Rai, director of communication for San Juan Unified. “However, the district has not received service of this lawsuit and will not comment on pending litigation.”
