A middle school student’s refusal to hand over his cellphone triggered a response by a paraprofessional that has the school district facing claims for negligence and civil rights violations in U.S. District Court in Springfield. According to the plaintiff’s complaint, a paraprofessional that was recently hired by the school district and assigned to the student’s classroom, saw the student using his cellphone and demanded that he hand over the device. Instead of complying with the order, the student said he would take the phone to the front office, but as he attempted to leave the classroom, the paraprofessional allegedly grabbed him. Andra Hutchins, who represents both students and teachers accused of misconduct, spoke with Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about the case.
Andra said she sees the plaintiff facing significant challenges in establishing negligence liability against the school district. “Negligence cases are very difficult to win against school districts because, as with any other negligence case, there’s the question: ‘Was the behavior foreseeable?’ Even taking these alleged facts as being true on their face, I don’t know whether [the plaintiff] can prove whether this behavior by this teacher was foreseeable. It would be very difficult to prove that.” However, Andra noted that if the allegations against Langelier are true, his actions likely violated regulations issued by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. “If this teacher truly lifted this student off the floor and there was no evidence that any other students were in danger, that is likely ‘misconduct’ as that term appears in the DESE regulations.”
Continue reading the article “Student’s use of cellphone becomes flashpoint for lawsuit” on the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly website (subscription required).