Seattle father sues school district, alleging teacher assaulted his 11-year-old son

SEATTLE — A Seattle Public Schools (SPS) employee is speaking out two years after he says a teacher assaulted his 11-year-old son. That teacher remains employed by the school district. 

Kenneth Smith Jr., an instructional assistant in special education for the district, filed a lawsuit in June 2025 alleging that a music teacher physically attacked his son during an incident at Emerson Elementary School on March 11, 2024.

“There were multiple times he came home crying, not wanting to go back. It’s documented,” Smith said.

According to the lawsuit, the confrontation began when another student threw an apple at Smith’s son so hard it split in two. His son then chased that student to the music teacher’s classroom while still holding the apple.

The lawsuit alleges the teacher pushed the student in the chest, grabbed him by the back of the neck, shoved him and cursed at him. In response, the student slapped the teacher across the face, according to court filings. The teacher then allegedly grabbed the student again and raised her hand as if to strike him before he fell to the ground, the complaint states.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, period,” Smith said.

The student was on both a 504 plan and an individualized education program — both provide accommodations for students with disabilities. He has ADHD and, according to court documents, has “difficulty regulating emotions, particularly anger and frustration.”

The district suspended the student for three days following the incident. However, a district hearing officer later reversed that suspension, finding that his behavior was a “manifestation of his disability” and that the suspension violated district policy prohibiting suspensions for elementary students for disruptive conduct.

The hearing officer, Jennifer Johnson Grant, also found that the district failed to produce the student’s required behavior intervention plan and that the teacher “became escalated and cursed at [the student]” and “tried to push [the student] out of the classroom,” according to court documents the district admits are accurate.

Smith, who works with students with special needs at Franklin High School, said he felt “embarrassed and nervous” when the incident occurred. Working in special education himself, Smith said he regularly sees students with disabilities treated differently.

“You know what they call some kids that have 504s and IEPs? ‘Those IEP kids.’ It’s a shame,” he said, becoming emotional. “It’s not just him that’s the problem. It’s not just him.”

Smith said he kept quiet about the incident for two years but decided to speak out now in hopes of creating systemic change.

“What I’m doing right now is trying to stand up for the people who are too shy to speak up when stuff happens,” he said.

Seattle Public Schools declined to comment on the pending litigation but provided a statement: “Seattle Public Schools takes matters of student safety seriously. We want to reaffirm our deep commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students.”

In court filings, the district’s attorneys deny that the teacher grabbed the student by the neck or pushed him. Instead, they claim she “used either her forearm or a waste basket to prevent [the student] from entering her classroom.” The district admits that the student slapped the teacher and that another educator overheard the teacher use profanity while telling the student to exit.

The district denies allegations that the student fell to the ground or that the teacher raised her hand to strike him.

According to Smith’s attorney, the teacher remains employed by Seattle Public Schools. The district suspended the teacher following the incident, but she appealed that suspension.

When asked about the teacher still working for the district, Smith’s response was blunt: “That is like the biggest slap in the face.”

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, seeks damages for assault and battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of Washington’s anti-discrimination law. The case alleges the district failed to properly train staff on de-escalation techniques for students with behavioral disabilities.

Smith’s attorneys at Cedar Law declined to provide additional comments beyond the court filings. The case remains in active litigation, with both sides engaged in contentious discovery battles over personnel records and investigation documents.