View Ridge Elementary Isolation Case Appears to Have Reached a Settlement

 It was reported to me that the district appears to have reached a settlement in a case involving a Special Education student being caged at View Ridge Elementary. As soon as I get a link to that story, I'll provide it. The settlement appears to be in the $1M range. Background story from KUOW:

Investigators found that the principal of View Ridge Elementary School in northeast Seattle told staff to lock the gates around a second-grade boy to manage his behavior issues.

A Seattle Schools investigation would later reveal that Jaleel had been placed in this enclosure, dubbed “the cage” by school staff members, on multiple occasions, including June 20, 2019, the day Flaherty intervened. 

The assistant principal brought the 8 year old his lunch, which Jaleel ate while sitting on the concrete floor. Students and teachers walked by him on their way to recess, and the students sometimes stopped to stare at Jaleel.

District leaders called the situation “egregious.” But the district had approved of this space as suitable for the child.

But district officials were aware that Jaleel was being placed in this enclosure — a district staffer from the special education department had even suggested the outdoor space for the boy, Principal Roos and another staff member told KUOW.

Roos (the principal) had, in fact, received district approval to put Jaleel in the fenced room — and, he told KUOW, a district official had come up with the original idea of using the play court for Jaleel, because, unlike many schools, View Ridge has no student isolation rooms. In an email, Anderson, the instruction assistant, confirmed that account.

 

Seattle Public Schools launched an investigation after Flaherty filed an August 2019 discrimination complaint against Principal Roos — in which she reported how Roos had kept Jaleel outside.

The investigation, completed in October 2020, found that Roos violated district policy in Jaleel’s case by failing to record and report the isolation incidents. The investigation also found that Roos had not followed district guidance that at least one door must remain unlocked.

Erin Romanuk, who oversees discipline for Seattle Public Schools, confirmed to a district investigator that Roos had asked her whether it was a permissible area to place Jaleel.

“Romanuk stated that she told Roos he could use it if the doors were unlocked and [Jaleel] was supervised at all times,” the investigator wrote.