An alleged incident of a ‘fight club-style’ disciplinary action in a classroom has come to light, with a mother filing a lawsuit against George Washington Carver School and its teacher, Julious Johnican. The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, has claimed that her son, a special needs student aged seven, was subjected to physical violence orchestrated by the teacher.
In a disturbing turn of events, the mother alleges that the teacher permitted other students to engage in physical brawls in the classroom. The unnamed mother, whose son grapples with disabilities, including sensory sensitivities, an executive function disorder, and probable learning disabilities, first alerted the school of the ‘fight club-style’ discipline in his classroom at the start of the academic year.
However, the school administration seemingly dismissed her son’s allegations for several months. The incident came to light during a parent-teacher conference on November 1, where Johnican accidentally revealed footage of her son being attacked.
The mother claims that Johnican was attempting to demonstrate the safety of his classroom environment in response to concerns that had been raised. However, he inadvertently played audio of one of the attacks. The footage shows a classmate throwing numerous punches at her defenseless son, with the audiotape capturing shouts of “Don’t mess with me.”
The teacher can be heard encouraging the attacker, saying, “That’s right. You get him.” As the video ends, the attacking boy tells the teacher he intends to attack the victim again, to which Johnican, who is still recording, replies, “I know you want to get him when he does things.”
The lawsuit names Johnican, a substitute teacher, several administrators, and the district itself, accusing them of failing to protect her son and ignoring his allegations. The mother alleges that Johnican encouraged and instigated a ‘fight club’ style of discipline within his classroom over three months.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Johnican held down her son while other students attacked him on at least two occasions.
Johnican defended his actions to the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) investigators, stating that the two students were “sometimes friends” but had “many negative engagements.” He claimed he recorded the incident “to have proof of what was happening” as he lacked the patience to intervene in the melee.
The DCS investigation affirmed the boy’s claims, stating that Johnican “knowingly and willingly engaged in behaviors toward the victims that jeopardized their overall well-being while in his care as a teacher at IPS 87.”
Following the incident, Johnican was allowed to resign from the school. The mother has stated that she had communicated with the teacher on several occasions about her son’s safety before the video surfaced.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, with damages to be determined at trial. It accuses the defendants of disability discrimination, intentional infliction of serious emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent care and supervision, negligent hiring, retention, and supervision, and inadequate policies and protection.
In response to the lawsuit, the Indianapolis Public Schools released a statement asserting that they “do not tolerate the type of behavior alleged in the complaint and take reports of potential abuse and neglect seriously.”
