Last Updated 1 week by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — George Washington Carver Montessori School 87 is under a new lawsuit for abuse of a first-grade special needs student from 2023-2024.

Indianapolis Public Schools, former Principal Mary Kapcoe, former Vice-Principal Finae Rent, and former teacher Julious Johnican – who is charged with a felony for neglect for a separate incident of allowing the physical abuse of a special needs student – “allowed a pattern of physical abuse and bullying to continue for months, despite the family’s repeated efforts to seek protection for the child,” the family’s lawyers wrote in a statement.

The 6-year-old student suffered “bruises, soft tissue damage, and a traumatic injury that required surgery” in front of IPS staff. Lawyers say that the school’s staff didn’t call for medical help, didn’t tell the child’s family of the full injury, and didn’t investigate the incident.

The most severe injury, lawyers say, is when the student was pushed off the monkey bars by another child and then suffered injuries that required surgery for vaginal tears.

“The harm suffered was not random — it is the foreseeable consequence when there is a school
culture that ignores repeated warnings, dismisses concerns raised by families, and allows a
dangerous environment to persist without intervention,” the family’s attorney Catherine Michael said.

The family’s says that safety concerns were never addressed even after the teacher, Johnican, was removed for filming and encouraging a student fight.

After girl named in the lawsuit was stabbed in the hand with a pencil in February 2024, the family removed her from the school.

“A six-year-old child reported serious harm over and over again. Her family pleaded for help. And IPS did nothing. When a school fails to act in the face of such serious and ongoing danger, it forfeits the public’s trust and fails the community it serves,” attorney Tammy Meyer said.

The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.