Former teacher says she was locked in room with violent student

SEATTLE  — A former special education teacher has sued the Bremerton School District, saying she was locked in a room with a 7-year-old student who kicked and punched her.

She also says that school officials ignored her reports of inappropriate behavior by another paraeducator.

The Seattle Times reported Tuesday that 50-year-old Wendy Maki of Grapeview filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in September, accusing the school district of negligence, false imprisonment and civil rights violations. She spoke to reporters this week, she says to spotlight the trauma and violence that teachers sometimes endure on the job.

Her lawsuit alleges that she was ignored after she warned supervisors at Kitsap Lake Elementary about suspected inappropriate behavior by a paraeducator in her classroom in 2017.

The lawsuit claims the paraeducator had inappropriate physical contact with three boys with disabilities in the classroom.

Maki’s lawyers say she suffered post-traumatic stress from the incident and has yet to return to work more than two years later. They expect the case to go to trial in January 2021.

District officials have denied that Maki was ever locked in a room with the student and criticized her for singling out the child.

An attorney for the district says a single employee was disciplined for inappropriate boundaries such as giving small gifts but there was no finding of unsafe or sexually suggestive behavior.