Parents sue MPS over use of 'dungeon' as punishment at elementary school
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A group of families is suing Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) over its use of a disciplinary measure that called for locking children in a dark boiler room.
Three sets of parents filed a civil lawsuit Monday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The families allege several staffers at Thurston Woods School either sent kids to the boiler room or threatened that's where a paraprofessional would take them.
The staffers referred to the boiler room as 'The Dungeon,' according to the lawsuit.
According to the legal complaint, one paraprofessional at the K4-8 elementary school specifically would take "the students to 'the dungeon' and lock them inside with the lights turned off."
The parents claimed the punishment happened in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. According to the lawsuit, the paraprofessional in charge of taking kids to the boiler room was later fired.
The complaint maintained students were put at risk because they were trapped in a dark room, surrounded by "cleaning agents, buckets, boxes, furnace filters, ladders, boilers and other machinery"
A lawsuit filed by MPS parents stated their kids were punished by being locked in the boiler room at Thurston Woods School.
In addition to suing the Thurston Woods staffers, the parents also sued the Milwaukee Board of School Directors.
Director James Ferguson told CBS 58 Wednesday the board knew about the parents' claims and was looking into them.
"I know we have an internal investigation going on, as well," Ferguson said. "And I'll definitely let that process run its course."
The lawsuit also mention the school's former assistant principal, Dennis Daniels, as a defendant. Daniels was accused of knowing about the paraprofessional's methods of punishment but not stepping in.
Daniels was convicted earlier this year in a case where he was accused of covering up for a student who'd brought a gun to the school.
Daniels was initially charged with a felony, but in January took a plea deal in which he was convicted of Attempted Misconduct in Office, a misdemeanor.
In a statement, an MPS spokesperson said the district had investigated the accusations two years ago.
"While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023," the district's statement said. "And took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment."
The families' attorney, Drew De Vinney, sent over a statement late Wednesday afternoon. De Vinney said the families took issue with the idea MPS was initially responsive to their concerns.
"Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the [state] Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law," De Vinney said. "Additionally, the sole video produced by MPS shows multiple staff members in the vicinity of this unlawful conduct when it occurred and that no one intervened to stop it."
The complaint against MPS argues the children suffered lasting harm to their mental health, and eventually, the three kids were scared to go to school.
"Students experienced sleep issues," the lawsuit claimed. "Nightmares and waking up crying during the night because of fear of 'the dungeon.'"
Fergusion maintained the MPS board is taking the accusations seriously, and he added the paraprofessional's firing was proof the district took decisive action.
"Anybody who stepped outside of the norms," Ferguson said. "Anybody who stepped outside of what our policies require or hold, will be held accountable."
The lawsuit did not specify an amount in damages the families wanted to receive; it stated the families will allow that number to be determined at trial.