Parents to sue L.B. schools amid abuse allegations

An attorney representing parents of five disabled Long Beach students said they plan to sue the school district for $25 million, claiming that officials failed to act on complaints of abuse of the children by their former special education teacher that allegedly took place over seven years.

The district is currently involved in a disciplinary hearing to determine whether the Long Beach Middle School teacher, Lisa Weitzman, will be fired, citing eight charges against her, including using a bathroom as a “time-out” room, threatening to restrain a student with zip ties and pushing a child into a wall, all of which Weitzman has denied.

But a petition filed on behalf of the five parents in Nassau County Supreme Court on April 1 — seeking permission to file a late notice of claim against Long Beach Public Schools — claims that there are other allegations not listed in those formal charges, including that Weitzman forced a male student to masturbate in front of his classmates; that she fed the children prohibited food items so as to cause gastrointestinal symptoms in an effort to cause them to miss school; and that she sprayed Lysol and other deodorants on children.

“Regardless of what they’ve charged [her] with, we’ve uncovered other things as well,” attorney Gerald Misk said, adding that his firm retained a private investigator who has been probing the incidents.

Misk, of Ginsburg & Misk LLP in Queens Village, is representing the parents of the children, who each have autism, Down syndrome or both, are nonverbal and now range in age from 14 to 18. Weitzman was reassigned by the district in November 2014, after the allegations were made. The disciplinary hearing, which began on March 4 and was made public at Weitzman’s request, will determine the tenured teacher’s employment, but the petition targets the district.

A hearing before state Supreme Court Justice Anthony L. Parga on April 29 could determine whether Misk and the parents can sue the district, since the notice of claim was filed more than 90 days after the alleged incidents.