A Fort Worth family has initiated a $1 million civil lawsuit against Arka Montessori Academy, alleging that an employee fostered an abusive "fight club" environment and physically assaulted their four-year-old son under the guise of classroom discipline.
The legal complaint, filed on September 4 in Tarrant County, seeks substantial damages on behalf of the child, identified in court documents as U.H., for severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and physical injuries sustained during the incident.
The allegations center on events that took place on April 27 at the academy's Risinger campus. Arka Montessori operates 11 facilities across the greater Dallas metropolitan area, offering early childhood care and educational services.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred toward the end of the school day after U.H. was relocated into a combined classroom as staff members began concluding their shifts. The room was supervised by regular classroom teacher Jacqueline De Luna and substitute teacher Chynia Johnson, whose own young son was also present in the group.
The dispute began when Johnson's son struck U.H. in the back while De Luna's back was turned. Rather than defusing the conflict or separating the children, Johnson allegedly entered the room and actively encouraged her son to continue confronting and attacking the four-year-old victim.
Court filings state that Johnson’s son then sprinted toward U.H. and pushed him hard in the chest. At that point, Johnson allegedly intervened not to protect the victim, but to forcefully grab and shake U.H.'s arm before violently shoving the toddler away.
The complaint alleges that Johnson spoke to her child again, prompting him to launch a third charge at U.H. In an attempt to shield himself, the four-year-old raised his arms and leg, causing Johnson’s charging son to lose his footing and fall to the classroom floor.
Following her son's fall, Johnson reportedly lunged at U.H., seizing both of his arms, shaking him aggressively, and screaming directly into his face. As the frightened four-year-old struggled to break free, Johnson grabbed her own son and pulled him face-to-face with U.H.
De Luna later told investigators that she witnessed Johnson instructing her son to kick and punch U.H. during the confrontation. The lawsuit further asserts that Johnson grasped U.H. by the wrist and swept his leg out from under him, causing the child to fall violently onto the classroom's hard surface.
Surveillance footage referenced in the legal filing reportedly shows De Luna watching the entire physical altercation unfold without taking any action to intervene, de-escalate the situation, or protect the young boy.
Attorneys from the Dallas-based Button Law Firm, representing the family, stated in the filing that the daycare treated the young child like a "human ragdoll" and forced him to physically defend himself against both a peer and an adult many times his size.
When the boy's mother, Heather Harris, arrived at the daycare center later that afternoon, she found her son crying uncontrollably. Staff members initially described the event to her as a routine, one-off scuffle between classmates.
Unconvinced by the facility's explanation, Harris demanded to review security camera recordings of the classroom. In an interview with local station WFAA, she stated that her son's distress and facial expressions made it immediately apparent that a far more serious event had occurred.
Medical and psychological assessments detailed in the lawsuit indicate that U.H. suffered scratches and bruising along his arms, developed post-traumatic headaches, and continues to struggle with severe anxiety regarding attending daycare settings.
The legal complaint also asserts that facility administrators were negligent in their staffing decisions. The filing claims coworkers were aware of Johnson's pattern of yelling and aggressive conduct with children, yet the academy failed to address the behavior or remove her from the classroom.
Following the altercation, Texas Health and Human Services conducted a formal regulatory investigation into the Risinger campus. State regulators cited Arka Montessori for four distinct childcare safety violations: improper disciplinary methods, prohibited physical punishment involving grabbing and pulling, prohibited emotional punishment involving yelling and humiliation, and failure of caregivers to demonstrate good judgment, competency, and self-control.
The lawsuit emphasizes that parents have an absolute right to expect their children will be kept safe from adult abuse and physical confrontations while in licensed care. Arka Montessori Academy has not issued a public response to requests for comment on the pending litigation.
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