MILWAUKEE — A civil lawsuit filed against Milwaukee Public Schools on Monday alleges that students at Thurston Woods Elementary School were locked inside the school's boiler room, referred to by staff as "the dungeon," as punishment during the 2022 and 2023 school years.
The lawsuit, filed by parents of three MPS elementary students, claims a former paraprofessional forced their children into the boiler room and barricaded the door when students misbehaved. According to the legal documents, staff would call the paraprofessional to "punish and frighten" students.
Watch: Lawsuit alleges MPS employee locked elementary students in boiler room as punishment
"It's actually crazy that you would lock kids in a boiler room. It's diabolical. It doesn't matter how old or how young they are or what grade they're in, that's like crazy for a school to do," Jakiala Jenkins said.
Jenkins has three siblings who attend Thurston Woods Elementary School and said she's questioning why her family is just learning about these allegations.
The lawsuit alleges students were exposed to chemicals and cleaning agents in the boiler room, leading to health concerns. According to the filing, students "experienced sleep issues, nightmares, and waking up crying during the night because of fear of 'the dungeon.'"
The lawsuit says an open records request through MPS revealed the paraprofessional violated "Employees Rules of Conduct," including "Anti-Harassment/Anti-Bullying by staff" and "Milwaukee Public Schools Discipline Policy," according to the plaintiff's attorney.
The former paraprofessional did not respond to requests for comment.
Milwaukee Public Schools sent a statement that reads in part: "The district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action, which included termination of employment."
The lawsuit makes several claims against the paraprofessional, four other school staff members, and the school board for negligence, unlawful seizure, and failure to intervene.
"That's really bogus. If they were acting up, they probably have stuff going on at home to the point where they come here and lash out,” Jenkins said. Because that's what some kids do sometimes — so it's crazy that that would happen to them. They should be here talking to every student, every age, everything, for real.”
The parents behind the lawsuit were not available for interviews. Two staff members being sued declined to comment.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Drew DeVinney, sent TMJ4 a statement:
Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law. Additionally, the sole video produced by MPS shows multiple staff members in the vicinity of this unlawful conduct when it occurred and that no one intervened to stop it. We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
