Family Of Boy Told To Urinate In Classroom Trash Can, Forced To Wear Trash Bag Files Lawsuit Against LAUSD
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The family of a boy who was allegedly denied access to a school bathroom, subsequently urinating on himself and was later forced to wear a trash bag has filed a lawsuit against the school district.
The mother of the then 8-year-old boy, Sonia Mongol, said she has been trying for months to get justice for her child. She said that when the Los Angeles Unified School District didn't respond to her, she felt forced to file the lawsuit.
The Manhattan Place Elementary School student was allegedly prohibited from using the restroom during class and when he could no longer wait to go, Mongol says the teacher gave him the option of urinating in a trash can at the front of the classroom and "exposing himself in front of all the other students."
Mongol reported back in March that her son was allegedly then forced to sit in his own urine-soaked clothing and wear two plastic garbage bags. She said she was not alerted that her son remained at school wearing them.
The lawsuit claims that the district was negligent in their hiring, training, and the supervising of her son.
Mongol said that after the situation, her child was moved to a different school in the same district where he was once again denied access to use a bathroom by a substitute teacher.
The teacher allegedly told him that if he went to the bathroom he would be locked out of the classroom. When the child returned, he was in fact locked out, according to Mongol.
Mongol believes the district is failing its students.
"I just think about how he must have felt as a child that day...because small children and children don't understand, they just go to adults to try to help them, and they failed him," Mongol said.
A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson put out the following statement in response to the lawsuit:
"While we cannot comment on pending litigation, the Los Angeles Unified School District remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students."
