ARBUTUS, Md. —A Baltimore County school that serves students with cognitive disabilities is at the center of a lawsuit.
A lawsuit filed against Baltimore County Public Schools, a teacher and a principal alleges that a class of special needs students at Maiden Choice School was secretly given a sleep aid every morning for at least two months in 2024 without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
The civil complaint was filed by the mother of a 12-year-old nonverbal boy with autism who attended the school.
According to the lawsuit, the boy and his classmates were allegedly dosed with melatonin daily, leading to serious physical and behavioral effects, including nosebleeds, loss of motor functioning, anger, confusion and insomnia.
According to court documents obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News, concerns first emerged after a staff member reported the alleged dosing, despite hesitation about coming forward.
The lawsuit claims school administrators had already become suspicious after noticing that the entire class was routinely falling asleep in the middle of the day over a period of at least six weeks.
“The principal and assistant principal became suspicious of foul play when the entire class was found sleeping midday, daily and consistently for a period of at least six weeks prior to the whistleblower,” the lawsuit states. “Despite the school’s suspicions, no further action was taken by the school.”
The family alleges assault, negligence and violations of civil rights.
Adam Rosenberg, the executive director of the Center for Hope, who is not directly involved in the case, said the allegations are especially troubling because educators and caregivers are legally required to report suspected abuse.
“If there’s a reason to believe, if there’s a suspicion that abuse has occurred, then faculty, teacher, staff who take care of kids are required by law to report it to Child Protective Services or 911,” Rosenberg told WBAL-TV 11 News. “I’m not sure that was done here.”
Rosenberg also spoke about the emotional impact such incidents can have on vulnerable children.
“When children are abused and hurt by people who are supposed to be taking care of them, it signifies to a child that you can’t trust anybody, and I think that’s really sad,” Rosenberg told WBAL-TV 11 News.
Rosenberg said student safety should take precedence above all else in schools.
“The protecting of our children is paramount above the quality of their education,” Rosenberg told WBAL-TV 11 News. “If your kid’s not safe in school, what good are we doing?”
Attorneys representing the family declined to comment on the lawsuit. BCPS also declined to comment on the allegations, but confirmed that the teacher named in the complaint is no longer employed by the district. The principal remains listed as head of Maiden Choice School on the school’s website.
