A mother of a student enrolled in special education within the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) is pursuing legal action against the district, alleging negligence in protecting her daughter from sexual assault by another student.
As reported by KPRC 2’s Robert Arnold, the Houston-area mother, whose identity remains confidential to shield her daughter, claims in court documents that her daughter was sexually assaulted twice by another student, despite the district’s special education plan mandating constant supervision for the victim. The daughter, adopted at age six-and-a-half from China, is described as intellectually disabled and epileptic, facing challenges since being abandoned and placed in an orphanage in China.
According to Arnold’s investigation, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) was established for the daughter upon enrolling in Fort Bend ISD, as per the Texas Education Code for special education students aged 3-21. The daughter’s IEP explicitly mandated staff supervision whenever she left the classroom. The mother contends that the alleged perpetrator, who had a documented history of violence against other students, also had an IEP requiring continuous supervision.
In court documents, the mother’s attorneys assert that the sexual assaults occurred when both students were outside the classroom and unsupervised. Despite the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of FBISD’s dismissal, the mother has escalated the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking accountability and a trial. Expressing her concerns, the mother stated, “The school’s protected, they’re in a protective bubble. I think that they at least need to go to trial and be held accountable and let somebody else decide if they did something wrong or not.”
