Every case counts, some make the news. Read up on a few of our higher profile cases.
Montgomery Law Press
“Essentially, Philadelphians are making societal choices about the educational experience we’re willing to provide for everyone in our society,” said Monson. “And sometimes those services come with greater cost.”
According to some, those services also come at a lower quality.
Davis’ lawyer, Joseph Montgomery, said his office fields four to six calls every morning from clients struggling with transportation issues.”
Joseph Montgomery and Solomon Jones speak about Special Education on Praise 107.9 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Substitute Teacher Accused of Allegedly Hitting First Graders – April 14, 2018:
Several first grade students of Sullivan Elementary School in Wissinoming have come forward to school officials after being hit by their substitute teacher. Six year old Kailyn Wildonger brought light to what was happening to her and five other students in their classroom on April 6.
Darby cops’ arrest of 11-year-old girl was excessive – February 15, 2018
After a call came in about a disturbance on a bus Tuesday afternoon, Darby Borough police went into action. An officer arrived on the scene in Delaware County, did some interviews, and determined that he had probable cause to make an arrest. So he handcuffed an 11-year-old girl.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Mom says her 8-year-old son is constantly bullied at school – January 18, 2018
An 8-year old boy is bullied day in and day out at school, according to his family. Now, his mom says it has gone too far after he came home battered and bruised.
“He needed help and no adult was there and it was in the middle of the lunchroom and no one came to help him,” his mom told FOX 29.
Aiesha Ayala broke down in tears after she says her 8-year-old son Syris was repeatedly punched and kicked by a couple of bullies at lunch Wednesday. The second grader at Ethan Allen School in the Northeast ended up at the hospital with bruises to his back and pain in his eye.
Philadelphia dean of students charged with rape of 14-year-old girl – October 27, 2017
Pennsylvania authorities charged a 42-year-old man with raping a teen girl while he served as the dean of students at a Philadelphia charter school.
Omar Harrison, of Cheltenham, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the assault of an eighth grade student who attended Harrity Elementary School
Child maimed on tracks, again – July 26, 2017
Two children, three severed legs. In less than two months.In both instances, trains struck Philadelphia kids. Babies, really. Each had been hanging around tracks when passing railcars caught their attention and they somehow wound up beneath them, bloodied and mangled. Scarred forever. Lucky to be alive. Both will need prosthetic devices just to walk again.
In both instances, trains struck Philadelphia kids. Babies, really. Each had been hanging around tracks when passing railcars caught their attention and they somehow wound up beneath them, bloodied and mangled. Scarred forever. Lucky to be alive. Both will need prosthetic devices just to walk again.
Bully shamed, sexually assaulted daughter, parents’ suit says – June 9, 2017
TRENTON — The parents of an Ocean County Catholic school student who say their daughter was viciously bullied by a classmate – and stabbed with a pencil and groped – are suing the Diocese of Trenton.
Salvatore and Lisa Turchio are suing the diocese – which operates the pre-K-through-8 school in Ocean County – for negligence in the handling of their daughter’s harassment, her ultimate expulsion and for slander. It seeks $250,000 in damages.
TRENTON — The parents of an Ocean County Catholic school student who say their daughter was viciously bullied by a classmate – and stabbed with a pencil and groped – are suing the Diocese of Trenton.
Salvatore and Lisa Turchio are suing the diocese – which operates the pre-K-through-8 school in Ocean County – for negligence in the handling of their daughter’s harassment, her ultimate expulsion and for slander. It seeks $250,000 in damages.
Lawsuit: Nurse’s abuse of special needs student unreported for four years – February 2, 2017
A nurse assigned to care for a severely disabled student in school came to work drunk and abused the boy for four years before teachers reported their concerns to child welfare officials, a federal lawsuit alleges.
The 12-year-old Easton Area School District student — who has cerebral palsy, is legally blind, nonverbal and uses a wheelchair — was receiving special education services from Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 when the abuse was reported last year to Northampton County caseworkers, according to the suit.
An investigation by the Children, Youth and Families Division concluded the allegations against the nurse, Crystal Luckenbach, were founded, the suit says. The agency’s May 5 report, which is included in the lawsuit, says witnesses reported in March seeing her force feed, pinch and aggressively handle the boy, who is identified in the lawsuit only by his initials.
Boozing nurse tortured special-needs child for years – January 26, 2017
A federal lawsuit alleges a school nurse abused a 12-year-old blind and mentally challenged Easton child repeatedly over four years. It also alleges school officials knew about the abuse and the nurse’s problems with alcohol but failed to intervene.
Nurse Crystal Luckenbach allegedly called the child “slobber puss” and “piggy piggy” and force fed him, causing him to gag and sometimes vomit, the lawsuit says.
Teachers reported that Luckenbach occasionally smelled of alcohol, would nod off in class, slur her words and move slowly.
The child identified in court documents by his initials has cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder and microcephaly, a genetic disease that left him with an abnormally small head.
The Easton Area School District sent the child to be educated in a special program in a Bethlehem Area School District school through the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20.
Easton Area School District solicitor John Freund said that neither the school district nor the intermediate unit had direct supervision over the nurse. She was hired by Maxim Healthcare Services of Columbia, Maryland, and chosen by the child’s parent, Freund said.
Suit accuses Stroudsburg School District of not doing enough in bullying case – October 31, 2015
The parents of a Stroudsburg School District student say the district did not do enough last school year when their child was beaten up by another student and a video of the assault was put online.
A lawsuit, filed by the parents on behalf of their son in U.S. District Court in Scranton, is requesting compensatory and punitive damages from the district.
The student, who was a teenager at Stroudsburg Area Junior High, had a 504 plan because he was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. A 504 plan is developed for students with disabilities so the student will receive accommodations that will ensure their access to learning.
The lawsuit claims the student could not read social cues very well and didn’t know when other students were bullying him. Since the fifth grade, one particular student had bullied the student. It was reported to school staff and nothing had been done to correct the problem, court papers say.