School officials form barrier to keep coatless boy out in the cold, Illinois suit says

A mother is suing an Illinois school district after she says school officials forced her 9-year-old son to stay outside in the cold without a coat in March.

In the lawsuit obtained by WBBM, Yvonne Pinkston says her son — a fourth grade student at Fiske Elementary School in Chicago — had been bullied by other students since enrolling at the school in the fall of 2018.

Despite the boy, his grandparents and Pinkston reporting the incidents, Pinkston says the school never took action.

On March 26, a student hit the boy — referred to as K.S. in court documents — following an argument, prompting K.S. to hit the student back, the lawsuit alleges, but school officials tell a different story.

“They said he was biting, scratching and kicking other kids – that didn’t happen,” the family’s attorney Dan Herbert told WMAQ.

Following the incident, both students met with a school counselor. K.S. told the counselor he didn’t start the fight, but witnesses the school calls “safe and responsible students” told the counselor K.S. was, indeed, the instigator, the lawsuit says.

Eventually the other student was returned to class and K.S. was taken to principal Cynthia Miller’s office where Miller allegedly yelled at the boy, telling him she was going to “put him outside,” the lawsuit says.

Video surveillance footage from the school, posted to YouTube by the Chicago Sun-Times, appears to show a guard pushing the boy — dressed only in khaki pants and a red polo — toward the door then “creating a barrier” with two other officials until the boy ultimately walks outside as they watch.

The lawsuit identifies the three officials as Miller, security officer Maurice Polk and school counselor Pamela Smith who are all named in the suit along with the school board and the City of Chicago.

The lawsuit indicates the high on March 26 was 46 degrees. K.S. didn’t have on a coat and was outside for 30 minutes, crying as he tried and failed to get back into the locked building, the lawsuit says.

While K.S. was outside, a Fiske employee called 911 to report a missing student, telling police that the student had “walked out of the school,” the lawsuit alleges. Another 911 call was placed about 30 minutes later requesting an ambulance, claiming K.S. “fought everyone and was fighting and scratching,” according to the lawsuit.

During the second call, police arrived at the school and found K.S. sitting on the playground crying, the lawsuit says.

Chicago Public Schools released a statement calling the allegations “disturbing,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“Every CPS student deserves access to a safe and welcoming school environment, and the district takes seriously all allegations of student harm,” the statement said. “These allegations are deeply disturbing, and we are fully committed to holding accountable any adult whose actions could have endangered a student.”

“Someone needs to go to jail for it or something,” Pinkston told the Sun-Times. “That’s neglect. It’s endangerment. Anything could have happened to my son out there, in that neighborhood, no, anything could have happened.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 11:53 AM with the headline "School officials form barrier to keep coatless boy out in the cold, Illinois suit says."