Student with Down syndrome abused, neglected and actually caged in Kansas school, lawsuit alleges

A paraprofessional in a Kansas school district hit, abused, neglected and locked a student with Down syndrome in a metal cage, a stunning new federal lawsuit alleges.

Kaw Valley Unified School District 321’s Albert Bahret also is accused of repeatedly putting the largely nonverbal 15-year-old special ed student in a utility closet; denying him food at lunchtime; forcibly yanking him around by the collar; letting him linger in soiled pants; and sending a photo of him locked in an athletic equipment cage to other staff while comparing him to an animal.

The lawsuit claims the paraprofessional had to obtain someone else’s key to release the boy from the cage.

The lawsuit claims the boy and paraprofessional also vanished “for great lengths of time to unknown locations and for unknown reasons.”

Also named in the lawsuit filed Friday are special education teacher Taylor Hurla and her superior, Sarah Sanders, the district’s special education services director. Hurla is accused of knowing about the boy’s abusive treatment and lying about it to the boy’s Silver Lake parents, Heather and Jeff Bahner.

Sanders is accused of hiding the abuse as well as others’ concerns, and directing staff that “what happens in the classroom stays in the classroom.”

“Sanders,” The Kansas City Star reports, “also incorrectly advised those under her command not to make reports with the Kansas Department of Children and Families, including by telling one employee that school professionals are not mandatory reporters.”

The alleged scandal instantly made international news, with a sweeping story in the British newspaper The Daily Mail, as well as a story by CBS News, and being the subject of a post by the popular X watchdog Libs of TikTok.

“WE NEED TO SHUT DOWN THE ENTIRE EDUCATION SYSTEM UNTIL WE CAN FIGURE OUT WTH IS GOING ON,” reads the post, which had recorded over 380,000 views by Monday morning.

The Kaw Valley district is headquartered in St. Marys, northwest of Topeka. The alleged victim is identified by the initials C.B.

“The Bahners were horrified to learn that C.B. – a particularly vulnerable child, given the extent of his disabilities and that he is only partially verbal – experienced the treatment described in their lawsuit, including placement of C.B. in a locked cage,” family attorney Matthew Rogers of Lawrence wrote in a statement to The Star. “The Bahners look forward to prosecuting their case and receiving justice for C.B.” 

Superintendent Kerry Lacock declined comment on the allegations, but wrote in an email to The Star, “We are asking our families and employees to report any concerns about inappropriate conduct without delay. It takes all of us working together – teachers, staff and student families – to make our schools the safe and caring place our community expects and deserves.”

The boy was a student at St. Marys junior and high school starting in 2022, The Star reports.

“Mistreatment of the boy has led to self-harm, diminished communication and other traumas, including an intense fear of dark spaces, according to the lawsuit,” The Star reports, quoting the lawsuit as saying, “He rips his hair out, so much so that he has large bald spots on his head … C.B. quit using his words, and now just stands and drools. He is terrified of the dark.”