CCSD expected to pay $800K to settle child abuse allegations

The Clark County School District is expected to pay $800,000 to a family who said their child, who has both mental and physical disabilities, was the victim of abuse by her teacher.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2023, said the 5-year-old child, who suffers from developmental delay and suspected autism spectrum disorder and wears braces on both legs, was the victim of “severe neglect and abusive practices.”

The lawsuit was filed by the child’s parents, Andre Dupree and Daijeana Rogers, and lists both the school district and Nicole Riley, the child’s Adams Elementary School teacher at the time, as defendants. The Clark County School Board is expected to vote to approve the settlement at Thursday’s meeting, according to agenda items. CCSD does not comment on pending litigation, and Riley did not respond to request for comment on Monday.

In November 2022, a staff member witnessed Riley lift the child’s chair out from under her and “violently dump” the child onto the floor, the complaint said.

A few days later, Rogers saw a large bruise on her daughter’s thigh. After she asked Riley what happened, the teacher said that nothing was wrong, according to the complaint.

Later in November, another staff member witnessed the child repeatedly falling out of her chair and crying for 40 minutes without any intervention from Riley.

Riley said that it had been happening all day, the complaint said.

In December 2022, a staff member saw Riley first yelling at the student and then grabbing her after she struggled to use an iPad designed to help her. The staff member said Riley “forcefully jerked” the student’s arm forward. She then “pounded” the child’s middle and index fingers down on the iPad. The child “visibly stiffened” after the incident, according to the complaint.

Riley later grabbed and jerked the child’s arm again more forcefully than the first time, the complaint said.

‘You can cry all you want’

Around November 2022, the child began crying every morning after being dropped off at school, the complaint said.

One morning, a staff member saw the student crying in the corner and then walked the crying child to Riley’s classroom. There, Riley told her: “You can cry all you want, I don’t care,” the complaint said.

Throughout the entire fall of 2020, the complaint said, Rogers repeatedly asked whether something was going on at school because she saw changes in her daughter’s behavior. Riley consistently said nothing was happening, saying that the child was only crying at the drop-off to get attention of other schoolchildren, according to the complaint.

A staff member wrote to the principal to describe the incidents on Dec. 2, and the principal reported it to Child Protective Services and CCSD Police, the complaint said.

Later in December, the child was placed in another classroom and then moved to Diaz Elementary School.

The parents did not hear about the alleged abuse until Dec. 6, 2022.

Riley was not removed and continued to be employed by the school at the time the lawsuit was filed, the complaint said. As of Monday, she was not listed on the school’s staffing website. She is listed as a teacher in the special education department at Rundle Elementary School.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.