HOUSTON - A Houston-area school district calls the idea it recklessly left out used rubber gloves "pure speculation" in a lawsuit over a student who died after choking on one.
The Spring Branch Independent School District filed a motion to dismiss April 2 in Houston federal court as it fights liability for the death of a Stratford High School student who was known to put random objects in his mouth and swallow them.
The suit alleges the student, known as S.R., was left unsupervised in an area where a rubber globe had been negligently left out.
"This is pure speculation by Plaintiffs..." the motion says. "Plaintiffs do not and cannot identify how, when, or where S.R. obtained a glove, or who (if anyone) at SBISD knew S.R. obtained a glove, which makes it impossible for Plaintiffs to plead intentional discrimination."
S.R. had severe autism and Williams-Beuren syndrome. He required daily feedings and changings by SBISD staff who allegedly used rubber gloves while doing so.
His propensity to put things in his mouth was well-known, his parents say, as his mother had given him a chewing device that she attached to a lanyard around his neck.
SBISD was aware of multiple incidents through the years, one of which put S.R. in the hospital after he choked on a binder clip, the plaintiffs say.
The suit alleges on Feb. 6, 2023 - his 15th birthday - he tripped and fell over another student. He stopped breathing, turned blue and lost consciousness. Attempts at CPR were unsuccessful and he died after two days in a coma.
While in the hospital, a foreign object was discovered in his airway - a rubber glove.
The lawsuit made claims under the Americans with Disability Act and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. As for the ADA, the school district said his parents never requested any accommodations or made any allegations demonstrating district officials showed any negative animus toward learning-disabled children.
For the 14th Amendment claim, SBISD says his parents can't show it was aware of and indifferent to a widespread practice of improper disposal or storage of rubber gloves.
"In their complaint, Plaintiffs make conclusory allegations masquerading as facts," the motion to dismiss says. "What is telling about Plaintiffs' allegations is that they fail to include any factual details about how the Board (of Trustees) was 'well-aware' of the need to keep S.R.'s environment free from rubber gloves, particularly where Plaintiffs not plead the existence of any similar incidents involving S.R. and rubber gloves..."
Martin Cirkiel of Cirkiel Law is among the lawyers representing the plaintiffs. SBISD is represented by Paul Lamp and Melissa Goins of Spalding Nicholas Lamp Langlois.