A Spanaway family says their non-verbal autistic son was grabbed by the collar, screamed at and repeatedly spanked by his special education teacher at Camas Prairie Elementary School last fall.

Nearly a year later, no one has been charged with a crime, and the teacher remains on paid leave.

The case is the third special education abuse lawsuit involving a non-verbal autistic student in Pierce County this year, following a $2.6 million Tacoma Public Schools settlement and a $290,000 Puyallup School District payout.

Darrell and Permella Gunartt filed their lawsuit Tuesday, Aug. 4, in Pierce County Superior Court against the Bethel School District, alleging their kindergartner, identified in court filings as "D.G.," was physically and verbally assaulted on Sept. 30, 2025, after he threw his lunchbox in the air.

According to the complaint, reported by The News Tribune, the teacher picked D.G. up by the collar and shoulders, screamed in his face and placed him in a timeout chair while a para-educator was present. When D.G. continued to struggle and began experiencing a meltdown, the teacher took him out of the chair, bent him over and hit him multiple times on the buttocks.

A temporary para-educator who witnessed the incident reported it to the school's principal, who then informed a school resource officer.

"That is child abuse and the district needs to answer for how it allowed this to happen, and they haven't," said Neil Stubbs, an attorney with Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel representing the family.

The teacher, when interviewed by a Pierce County Sheriff's Office deputy, acknowledged lightly swatting the boy. Days after the incident, the deputy wrote that there was probable cause the teacher committed third-degree assault and that the para-educator rendered criminal assistance by failing to report the abuse.

No charges have been filed. Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson Adam Faber confirmed the office received the case referral, which remains pending in its misdemeanors unit.

Bethel School District spokesperson Doug Boyles confirmed the teacher remains on leave but said the district does not comment on pending litigation. Neither the teacher nor the para-educator is individually named as a defendant.

A pattern across Pierce County

The Puyallup School District agreed to pay $290,000 to settle allegations that para-educators at Fruitland Elementary School used a water bottle and an isolation room to deter behaviors of at least three special education students, including a substantially non-verbal autistic child, between 2023 and 2025. That settlement was approved July 16.

Tacoma Public Schools paid $2.6 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging teacher Kathleen Skaar targeted a non-verbal autistic kindergartner at Skyline Elementary during the 2022-2023 school year, according to The News Tribune. A district investigation found credible evidence Skaar yelled at the student, flipped a table in front of him, threw a chair that hit him and physically grabbed and pushed him.

All three cases involved non-verbal autistic students in self-contained special education classrooms.

What protections exist

Washington state law prohibits corporal punishment in schools and bars the use of restraint or isolation except to prevent imminent serious harm. Under state reporting rules, schools must notify parents within 24 hours of any restraint or isolation incident and file written reports within five business days.

The Gunartt lawsuit argues those protections fall short for students who cannot speak for themselves. The complaint states that non-verbal autistic children "face an increased risk of abuse and neglect because they may be unable to promptly disclose what happened, identify an abuser, or communicate pain, fear, or distress in conventional ways."

D.G. has since been enrolled in a different school and exhibited signs of severe emotional distress in the months following the alleged abuse, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges negligence and violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination and seeks a jury trial, unspecified damages and legal fees.

The criminal case remains pending with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.