INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis mother has filed a lawsuit against Wayne Township Schools and three former employees, alleging they physically and emotionally abused her 8-year-old daughter. The complaint, filed Jan. 29 in Marion Superior Court 12, claims the student, who is nonverbal and has autism, was punched, thrown against a wall and neglected while enrolled at North Wayne Elementary School. The student, identified in the lawsuit by the pseudonym “Jill Doe,” was enrolled in the school’s Thrive classroom in February 2025. The program for students with significant disabilities. The child’s mother, identified in the lawsuit as “Jane Doe,” alleged her daughter was entrusted to the care of a special education teacher and two paraprofessionals. The lawsuit claims the district failed to provide a safe environment or adequately train staff to manage the needs of vulnerable students. The lawsuit says the teacher and paraprofessionals are no longer employed with Wayne Township Schools. News 8 is not naming the Wayne Township Schools educators because they have not been charged with any crimes. A spokesperson for Wayne Township Schools told News 8 that the west-side public school district was working on providing a statement about the lawsuit. Shortly after the girl was placed in the program, the child’s mother began noticing behavioral changes, the lawsuit says. The student began displaying aggression and regressed in skills she had previously mastered, such as toilet training. By March, the child exhibited extreme anxiety and began wetting herself when taken to the school building. During this period, the special education teacher reportedly contacted the mother six times to request that the girl be picked up early from classes. The mother also reported finding bruises on her daughter in March and early April. When she questioned the school about the injuries, the special education teacher reportedly dismissed the concerns. According to the lawsuit, the special education claimed the student was doing “fine” and suggested the bruising was “not seen” or could have “happened while playing.” The mother removed her daughter from the school on April 18, after being contacted by the Indiana Department of Child Services. The state’s investigation began after a substitute teacher, who worked at the school for three days in April, reported witnessing multiple incidents of abuse. The substitute reported that staff members in the specialized classroom screamed in the faces of 8-year-old children and gripped their arms with enough force to cause pain. The substitute also alleged seeing staff members drag children and throw one student into a trash can. According to the complaint, staff members laughed when one child said “kill me.” Specific allegations against the special education teacher included an incident where she reportedly punched the girl in the abdomen with a closed fist. The teacher also allegedly threw the child against a wall with shelving, the lawsuit said. In a separate instance, the special education teacher is accused of grabbing and hitting the girl’s wrist with excessive force to make her drop a piece of play-putty. The complaint states the student cried uncontrollably following the encounter. In the lawsuit, the paraprofessionals were accused of gripping children’s arms tightly and failing to intervene when the teacher allegedly physically assaulted students. The complaint further alleged that children in the classroom were neglected and forced to sit in soiled diapers for the entire school day while staff members mocked them. The girl has not returned to a traditional school environment and is receiving full-time therapy at a private autism center. Therapists at the Applied Behavior Center for Autism reported that the child experienced a “severe and pervasive regression” in her behaviors and overall functioning during her seven months at North Wayne Elementary. Therapists said in the lawsuit that the girl continues to struggle with school-based anxiety and physical pain related to the alleged incidents. The lawsuit seeks actual and compensatory damages for medical expenses, therapy costs, and permanent harm to the child’s development. The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial. ...read more read less