Former South Plainfield teacher files whistleblower suit against school district
SOUTH PLAINFIELD - A former pre-K special education teacher has gone to court claiming she was fired from the borough school district in retaliation for complaining about violations of law and cooperating with a law enforcement investigation into those violations.
Patricia Miller, a Westfield resident, filed the lawsuit Friday in Union County Superior County against the school district and four supervisors.
The South Plainfield School District has not yet been served with the suit, according to court records.
The suit alleges that Miller's termination in June 2022 was in retaliation of her complaining to her supervisors that an unnamed behaviorist in her classroom on March 29, 2022 allowed a student "to undress herself, placed a blanket between her legs and was making groaning sounds," the suit alleges.
Miller complained that the student remained unclothed for about 20 to 30 minutes, according to the lawsuit.
The behaviorist then was able to dress the student and left the school without speaking to Miller, the suit says.
As part of the investigation into her complaints, Miller gave statements to the South Plainfield Police Department, the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office and the state's Division of Children and Family Services.
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As a result of that investigation, the lawsuit says, the behaviorist and the social worker responsible for monitoring the child were fired.
About May 6, 2022, Miller was notified she was suspended with pay pending an investigation of an incident the previous day where she allegedly 'inappropriately physically handled a student," according to the lawsuit.
The allegation, according to the suit, was that Miller had pushed a student's head under a Hula Hoop "tunnel," a freestanding Hula Hoop that students walked through.
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Other teachers and paraprofessionals were present during the alleged incident and Miller denied any inappropriate conduct.
A month later, on June 9, 2022, Miller was terminated and told her last day of work was June 17.
Miller began working in the school district in September 2020 and had received favorable performance evaluations even during the pandemic, the suit says.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Former South Plainfield teacher files whistleblower suit against school district
