Failed Protection: School Faces Lawsuit Over Chronic Abuse of Special Needs Student

George Washington Carver Montessori School 87 faces a new lawsuit for chronic abuse of a first-grade special needs student from 2023-2024. Indianapolis Public Schools, former Principal Mary Kapcoe, former Vice-Principal Finae Rent, and former teacher Julious Johnican, who is charged with a felony for neglect, "allowed a pattern of physical abuse and bullying to continue for months, despite the family's repeated efforts to seek protection for the child," according to the family's lawyers.

The 6-year-old student suffered "bruises, soft tissue damage, and a traumatic injury that required surgery" in front of IPS staff. Lawyers say that the school's staff didn't call for medical help, didn't tell the child's family of the full extent of the injury, and didn't investigate the incident.

"The harm suffered was not random — it is the foreseeable consequence when there is a school culture that ignores repeated warnings, dismisses concerns raised by families, and allows a dangerous environment to persist without intervention," said the family's attorney Catherine Michael.

The family claims that safety concerns were never addressed even after teacher Johnican was removed for filming and encouraging a student fight. The girl named in the lawsuit was stabbed in the hand with a pencil in February 2024, prompting her family to remove her from the school.

"A six-year-old child reported serious harm over and over again. Her family pleaded for help. And IPS did nothing. When a school fails to act in the face of such serious and ongoing danger, it forfeits the public's trust and fails the community it serves," said attorney Tammy Meyer.

The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.