BLF Made Colleyville School Answer for Multiple Broken Childcare Laws

In the spring of 2024, caregivers at a Montessori school in North Texas broke the state’s childcare laws, also known as the minimum standards, when they inappropriately disciplined a young boy during naptime.

A caregiver at the school grabbed the little boy by the arm and forcefully turned him on his nap mat. The caregiver then put her hands over the boy’s eyes and firmly patted his back for an excessive amount of time. She even put rolled-up nap mats on top of the boy in an attempt to keep him from moving.

Sadly, this was not an isolated incident at the school. Just two months prior, the little boy suffered a deep laceration to his scalp while in the school’s care.

The discovery of the abusive treatment their son experienced and his unexplained injury horrified the little boy’s parents. They contacted our experienced North Texas daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm to get answers and uncover the truth about what happened to their son at the Montessori school. Our legal team fought to hold the school accountable and helped the boy and his parents move forward.

How Did the Montessori School Break Texas Childcare Laws?

To keep children safe, the state requires daycare centers to comply with the strict operating practices outlined by the minimum standards. These laws are meant to give working parents some peace of mind and a sense of what schools can and cannot do when it comes to caring for children.

In this case, the school’s surveillance cameras made it easier for state investigators and our team of daycare injury lawyers to investigate the incidents and gain a better understanding of what happened to the little boy at the school. The footage also revealed the school’s operational deficiencies and how the facility fell short with its compliance of the minimum standards.   

The surveillance footage from the North Texas Montessori school uncovered the school’s and its caregivers’ failure to comply with the following 12 minimum standards:

1. Always supervise children
2. Complete incident reports on all incidents involving injuries to children
3. Ensure caregivers relate to children with courtesy, respect, acceptance, and patience
4. Ensure its caregivers demonstrate competency, good judgment, and self-control
5. Ensure the safety of children in its care
6. Immediately terminate caregivers who are physically abusive toward children
7. Not punish a child for not napping
8. Not force a child to sleep
9. Provide a non-sleeping child with an alternate activity
10. Report all incidents involving serious injuries sustained by children to the Department of Family and Protective Services
11. Supervise the conduct of its caregivers
12. Use appropriate and approved punishment tactics

An independent investigation conducted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services issued five citations to the Montessori school for the incidents involving the little boy in this case. The agency found the caregiver responsible for the little boy forced him to sleep instead of providing the child with an alternate activity when he was unable to nap. Another citation involved the caregiver’s use of corporal punishment methods, as caught on video when she grabbed the boy’s arm and turned him over on a nap mat.

Investigators also found the caregiver withheld recess from the little boy as punishment, violating the minimum standards.

Lastly, any school or daycare center is required to file a child injury report to the state agency whenever a child in its care needs medical attention after an incident at the facility. In this case, the school opted not to send one in an attempt to cover up the incident and avoid receiving violations from the state.

How Did The Button Law Firm Help the Little Boy and His Parents in This Case?

Our team of experienced daycare injury lawyers fought to hold the North Texas Montessori school accountable for its many failures that caused the little boy to be harmed twice. We made the school answer and secured compensation for the family for the economic and non-economic damages that they suffered as a result of the school’s unsafe and negligent operations.

Contact The Button Law Firm If Your Child Was Injured at a Daycare Center

If your child was physically or emotionally injured at a daycare center anywhere in Texas, contact our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. With lawyers in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our lawyers at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.