A first grade teacher in Oregon went to the school’s administration office to report she ‘had done something inappropriate’ to a student during a fit of rage.
Teresa Thomas was teaching at Edward Byrom Elementary School in Tualatin, roughly 10 miles southwest from Portland, when she allegedly hit a child repeatedly while in class last year.
The seven-year-old boy’s mother pulled her son out of the school after Thomas told administration she ‘needed to hand herself in’ over her conduct.
Now, the school district along with the teacher are being hit with a lawsuit for claims of negligence and battery.
Thomas later described her behavior to authorities, blaming the reaction on her ‘motherly instincts’ kicking in, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Teresa Thomas, a first grade teacher in Oregon, went to the school’s administration office to report she ‘had done something inappropriate’ to a student after flying into a fit of rage and allegedly beating up one of her 7-year-old students
The boy’s mother was the one to first alert police and is now suing the Tigard-Tualatin School District and Thomas for damages related to negligence and battery, seeking $1.4 million in total.
The lawsuit also notes that the school failed to report the incident to the proper authorities or to the Oregon Department of Human Services.
The child, who has ADHD and other ‘documented disabilities’, was preparing to deliver a presentation to his classmates about his ‘student of the month’ award in December of 2023, KGW8 reported.
When he stood up on a ‘wobble chair’ – a stool that also serves purpose as a sensory device, Thomas allegedly attacked the child after ordering him to get down.
The complaint that was filed on October 1 says that the child was first struck on his ‘lower backside’ continuously as he pleaded for help from his classmates and begged his teacher to stop, The Sacramento Bee added.
He then ‘curled up into a ball on the floor’.
The boy reported that his teacher had hit him at least half a dozen times before he was able to escape out of her reach, where he then ‘cowered underneath a desk’.
Thomas is also accused of demanding the child pick up the items that he had knocked to the floor during his attempt to escape.
The 7-year-old boy was allegedly beaten after standing on a ‘wobble chair’ (pictured) – a stool that also serves as a sensory device for students
The seven-year-old boy, who was given the title of ‘student of the month’ last December, ‘has not been the same since the incident in his classroom,’ the complaint stated. ‘He no longer has an interest in school activities and has lost the childish joy of life,’ The Sacramento Bee reported.
The suit states that Thomas ‘immediately knew what she did was wrong’, Oregon Live reported.
But before she ultimately decided to come clean to administration, she put her shocked first graders in a ‘restorative circle’ to talk about what had just happened.
She then asked another teacher to watch her class as she reported herself, but allegedly ‘downplayed’ her actions when she spoke to school officials further, claiming that that the beating was more like a ‘love tap’.
Thomas later told authorities that her ‘motherly instincts’ kicked in after witnessing the child act dangerously while standing on the stool.
After alerting authorities, the boy’s mother spoke to a Tualatin police officer who took photos of his ‘backside where Thomas struck him’ and also talked with her son.
Jennifer Massey, a Tualatin Police Department Public Information Officer, confirmed to McClatchy News that the officer wrote a report on the attack and forwarded it to the state Department of Human Services.
Luke Dahlin, the attorney representing the child and his mother, told McClatchy News in an email that ‘this situation has been devastating to the boy and his family.’
‘Parents teach their children about which adults they can trust, and this was an outrageous breach of trust that has left lasting harm on the young boy.’
Corporal punishment – the use of physical force to cause pain for the purpose of punishing or correcting a child’s behavior – was banned in Oregon public schools in 1989.
The boy’s mother was the one to first alert police and is now suing the Tigard-Tualatin School District and Thomas for damages related to negligence and battery, seeking $1.4 million in total
The state then passed a statue that reaffirmed the ban in 2013.
But the complaint states that corporal punishment is the exact avenue taken by Thomas when she decided to cause pain to the child in an attempt to discipline.
Thomas was said to be put on administrative leave following the October complaint, but has since been back in the school as a full-time teacher.
Alex Pulaski, the school district’s interim communications director, noted that the district ‘rigorously vets’ all of their employees before they’re put in the classroom to make sure their qualified for the job and able to provide a safe and supportive space for the children.
‘We cannot comment on pending litigation,’ Pulaski said. ‘The Tigard-Tualatin School District is highly invested in keeping students safe, and we take any allegations involving student well-being very seriously.’
It is still unclear whether or not the Oregon Department of Human Services launched an investigation.
‘This teacher is still in the classroom with no apparent remediation, while the boy has moved schools and remains in counseling,’ Dahlin told McClatchy News.
Thomas has been licensed to teach in Oregon for 20 years, Oregon Live reported.
But as of now, she has not been criminally charged.
