Iowa district, former teacher sued for alleged abuse of autistic child

A parent has sued Iowa’s Sioux City Community School District and a former teacher, accusing the district of negligence in failing to supervise the teacher who allegedly abused a nonverbal child with autism.

“The lawsuit claims that Olivia Ratley, who was a special education teacher at Spalding Park Elementary School, was assigned to the child’s class,” explains Gray Media’s KTIV.com.

“Ratley was reportedly the child’s teacher during the 2023-2024 school year and for the first half of the 2024-2025 school year, while the child was in third and fourth grade.

“It also states that after Ratley became the child’s teacher, the child’s behavior started to change, and they were less eager to attend school.”

The parent, who was not named to protect the student’s identity, said the teacher “improperly used” physical restraint and isolation as punishments.

“Ratley often became frustrated with [the child] and would shove him, pinch him and refuse to allow him to use the bathroom,” the lawsuit states.

The district, which enrolls approximately 15,000 students, also failed to protect other children with disabilities who were under Ratley’s supervision, according to the lawsuit.

“Staff members complained to building administration and others within the Sioux City Public Schools about Defendant Ratley’s treatment of the disabled children in her classroom. The administration did not take prompt action in response to these complaints or timely notify parents that their children had been subjected to abuse.”

Because of his disability, the child was unable to communicate anything about the alleged abuse, the lawsuit argues.

Meanwhile, he is dealing with the ongoing impact of “physical injuries, emotional distress, academic/behavior regression and ‘loss of enjoyment of life,’” according to the article.

“School administrators also stated that there were other victims of Defendant Ratley’s abuse in the classroom and that they terminated Defendant Ratley as a result of what they learned in their investigation,” the lawsuit concludes. “Defendant Ratley was, in fact, permitted to resign and was not terminated.”

‘Something that needs to be looked into’

Other schools in different states have made headlines over their treatment of students with special needs.

In one recent example, a nonprofit law firm requested a systemic investigation into a North Carolina district after filing four complaints last year on behalf of families with autistic students.

“Just based on the trends that we’ve seen with the four students that we’ve represented, tells us that there’s something that needs to be looked into in terms of the system,” attorney Glynnis Hagins said.

Meanwhile, a Texas superintendent resigned in March after being arrested along with two teachers over the alleged abuse of students with special needs, including a 10-year-old nonverbal autistic child.