Fwd: Florida - Teacher O'Neill now faces lawsuit

[Guest guest]

It is not surprising (but is sad) that this type of thing is allowed to go on with a supposed professional. It is even more disturbing when the union protects an individual that obviously has emotional issues that affect her ability to work with students that require the most protection from this sort of thing. I know that she was found innocent of the charges, but it is obvious that she did the things that she was accused of. What is the most disturbing is the legal system cannot protect our children from this type of abuse. The arbiter ruled that she couldn't be fired due to the district not reprimanding her for her prior actions. The principal of the school dropped the ball here. If you know you have a teacher that is doing these things and you just turn a blind eye, you are just as guilty. It disturbs me that we, as a society accept this type of behavior, condone it and actually protect the individual that should be punished for it. If you or I were in this position, we would be in jail and our child would be in state custody. We have no union to protect us, we have no arbiter to protect us. We would play hell getting our child back (which is how it should be if you abuse a child). Why is it okay if it is a teacher? It is not.

Regards,

Ven Sequenzia

Florida - Teacher O'Neill now faces lawsuit

Florida Teacher O'Neill now faces lawsuit

By O'Donnell

August 29, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100829/ARTICLE/8291058/-1/sports?p=1 & tc=pg

Florida - The parents of a developmentally disabled girl who they say was mistreated by former Venice Elementary School teacher O'Neill are suing O'Neill and the Sarasota School District.

The lawsuit filed Friday by Debbie and Jimmy Hatfield states O'Neill slapped, pinched, poked and shoved the girl, now 13, when she did not respond to O'Neill's commands, and that O'Neill called her "fat ass" and "a waste of air."

The Hatfields also claim their daughter, who had half of her brain surgically removed as an infant because of extensive damage and cannot walk, talk or see, came home from school with bruises that they attribute to the rough treatment handed out by O'Neill.

O'Neill was arrested in 2008 on charges that she abused her profoundly disabled students; she was acquitted after a trial. She also kept her job with the school district and struck a deal with the state that will allow her back in the classroom.

The Hatfields say they filed the lawsuit because they don't think the truth was revealed in the trial.

"Nobody can understand how she got away with it," Jimmy Hatfield said.

O'Neill could not be reached for comment. Sarasota School Board Attorney Art Hardy said he would not comment on the lawsuit until the district was served with it.

O'Neill taught the Hatfields' daughter for about six years, beginning in 2002. The lawsuit states that O'Neill routinely abused many of her students.

Incidents were brought to the attention of Principal Theresa Baus, but neither she nor other school staff reported them to the state abuse hotline as required by law, the lawsuit states.

Instead, Baus asked teachers' aides to log any incidents. Over a three month period, they recorded more than a dozen instances of O'Neill kicking, pushing and hitting students, according to the lawsuit.

"The Sarasota School District did not enforce its own policies to prohibit violent behavior against students it knew was happening," said Rodems, an attorney representing the Hatfields.

Rodems said the lawsuit was filed in federal court because the district violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and did not give the girl equal protection enshrined in the 14th Amendment.

O'Neill, who earns about $78,000 a year, is working in the district's records department.

Teachers union director Barry Dubin said the union's attorneys would look at the lawsuit before deciding whether they would provide O'Neill with an attorney.

" has certainly been through a lot of procedures already and come through them," he said.

The district tried to fire O'Neill after she was acquitted, but an arbiter ruled she should keep her job. The arbiter said she could not be fired because the district knew about O'Neill's behavior but failed to discipline her or give her a verbal warning as required.

Under a settlement agreement struck with the state education department, O'Neill could serve a two-year probation, receive a letter of reprimand and pay a $500 fine. She would also have to pay $600 to cover the cost of probation.

The deal would allow O'Neill to teach again but prohibit her from supervising children that cannot speak. The agreement must still be approved by the Education Practices Commission at its Sept. 16 meeting.

The Hatfields have removed their daughter from school and now home-school her. Jimmy Hatfield said his daughter's moods are much better.

"I think she didn't progress because of what happened to her," he said. "We spend our whole life trying to make her life good."