Mother Claims Tuscaloosa City Schools Bus Driver Abused Disabled Teen

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The mother of a disabled teenager has filed a federal lawsuit against the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education and a school bus driver, alleging her daughter was violently beaten while strapped into a bus seat and denied the educational services guaranteed to her under federal law.

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The suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, names the board and bus driver Samuel Lee Jones as defendants. It was brought on behalf of 18-year-old N.F., a non-verbal student with profound autism, and her mother, LaKesha Renee Rice.

Rice is represented by attorneys J. Flint Liddon and James R. Morgan of the Birmingham-based firm Morgan, Morgan & Liddon.

According to the complaint, N.F. was riding a special-needs bus on Jan. 29 when Jones attempted to administer corporal punishment in what the lawsuit describes as an “abusive, violent and over-the-top manner.”

Video cited in the lawsuit allegedly shows Jones striking the teenager more than 20 times with his hands and a belt over several minutes while screaming at her.

The filing also claims two other Tuscaloosa City Schools employees on board did nothing to intervene.

Instead, one allegedly encouraged Jones, while another scolded N.F. and called her a “bad girl,” according to the lawsuit

Rice said her daughter’s behavior changed dramatically after the incident, becoming more aggressive and difficult to manage.

She also alleges the assault has harmed her daughter's ability to benefit from school and forced her to drive her daughter to and from classes because the district has not provided the transportation required by her individualized education program.

The lawsuit accuses the school system and its employees of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which require equal access to education for students with disabilities.

It also includes allegations of negligence and wantonness, claiming the school board failed to adequately vet, train and supervise employees entrusted with transporting special-needs students.

The complaint further claims the board retaliated against Rice for pursuing the matter by failing to provide her daughter an updated education plan and threatening her employment at Southview Elementary School.

Rice is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and other relief. She has also demanded a jury trial.

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