Special Ed. teacher sues after violent attacks

A former Thompson School District Special Education teacher is speaking out in hopes of bringing change to classrooms.

Carrie Giesler said she was beaten repeatedly by her special needs student and in return, she was let go. Giesler said the district didn't renew her contract because of the 20-page long police report she filed detailing the abuse she received in the classroom.

“I ended up with bruises bumps, bites, slaps across the face and punches in the stomach,” Giesler said.

She added the abuse could have been prevented if the district and the school had intervened. “Every time I went to somebody I got an eye roll,” she said.

Giesler told Denver7 that while working for the Thompson School District, she was moved to Turner Middle School.  She was assigned to a student with autism that had violent tendencies, but had no proper restraining training and was without help from the crisis intervention team.

Colleen O’Neil with the Colorado Department of Education said the department doesn’t require schools to provide specific training or interventions. She said it’s also up to the school to decide whether to send a student to a different facility.

“It's a school district and school responsibility to make sure those teachers are equipped and in [a] safe environment," said O’Neil.

Giesler is hoping the Colorado Department of Change takes a closer look at the issue of little or no proper training given to teachers with violent Special Education students.

Giesler filed a lawsuit against the district seeking compensation for pain and suffering and hoping it brings about change.

“The violence with autism and other disabilities is increasing, but yet our training stays the same,” said Giesler.

Giesler is also working on reaching out to state law makers who can help pass bills that protect teachers against this type of violence as well as make it mandatory for schools to intervene.

Ronald Jung is Giesler's attorney and since the lawsuit became public, more teachers have reached out to him with similar cases.