JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A local student with developmental disabilities, his family and attorney are caught up in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as court delays put a lawsuit on hold seeking damages against the Duval County School Board for claims of discrimination.
In 2017, Attorney Aaron Bates, who specializes in civil rights violations against people living with disabilities, filed the lawsuit against the school board.
The lawsuit alleges discrimination and civil rights violations against disabled student Christopher Gloston.
"You have so much going on that is not being reported because the kids can't speak for themselves," Bates said.
The incident involving Gloston happened when he was 18 and enrolled in the Mt. Herman Exceptional Center.
"He is blind, severely developmentally disabled," Bates said.
It was November 2015. Gloston was on a field trip to the former Jacksonville Landing when the student began screaming. He is autistic and nonverbal, and screaming is not unusual.
To quiet him, his teacher placed a towel over the student's face, used one of his hands to restrain his arm in his wheelchair, and then placed the other arm around the student's neck to get him to stop screaming, the lawsuit says.
A passerby took a picture of what was happening out of concern, posted it on social media and sparked an outrage and subsequently a lawsuit.
"But for this photo nobody would have know it was happening," Bates said. "It happened 30 plus times, and he was fine testifying to that in deposition."
The teacher may have testified to it during a deposition, but in response to the lawsuit, he denied any abuse.
However the school district reviewed what happened and said the technique used was never approved and the teacher was reprimanded.
"He employed that technique 30 times on Christopher because it quieted him down like a parakeet," Bates said.
Bates said the teacher has since retired, and Gloston is getting ready to age out of the Duval County Special Education Program.
In February, an appellate court ruled on a motion by school board attorneys requesting a summary judgement.
It would have effectively dismissed the lawsuit, but the court denied the motion paving the way for the lawsuit to move forward.
Bates said they were expecting a trial date and then the pandemic hit, closing the federal court system.
He said this is not his first case against the Duval County School District, and he fears it will not be the last, not when it comes to students living with disabilities.
He said it is time for the district to make significant changes.
"They need a review of their Special Education Department from the top down," Bates said.
He is hoping for a trial date soon. He said the Gloston family deserves closure.
We reached out to the school district for comment and was told it does not comment on pending lawsuits.