FOX 4 DFW Covers BLF’s Lawsuit Against Arka Montessori’s “Child Fight Club”
FOX 4 DFW is reporting on a lawsuit filed by The Button Law Firm against Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger after surveillance footage showed a teacher encouraging a fight between 4-year-old children before physically harming the Harris family’s son.
The report detailed the surveillance footage, the injuries the young child suffered, and the state investigation that later cited Arka Montessori for multiple violations of Texas childcare safety laws.
Texas daycare injury lawyer Russell Button spoke with FOX 4 about why the Harris family decided to come forward.
“Other parents need to know about this,” Russell Button told FOX 4’s Peyton Yager. “The daycare needs to be held accountable.”
Surveillance Footage Showed How the Situation Escalated
The Harris family’s 4-year-old son had been moved into another classroom near the end of the day when another child hit him in the back, and a fight began.
The children stopped fighting, but the situation became much more serious after another Arka Montessori teacher entered the classroom.
That teacher was the other child’s mother.
The footage shows her son pushing the 4-year-old in the chest. When the Harris son raised his hands to defend himself, the teacher grabbed his arm, aggressively shook him, and shoved him away.
She then spoke to her own child and stepped aside as he charged toward the 4-year-old again.
The teacher later grabbed the Harris son by both arms, shook him, screamed in his face, and dragged him toward the other child while he tried to get away.
Another teacher reported that she heard the teacher encouraging her son to kick and hit the 4-year-old.
While still holding onto the Harris child, the teacher grabbed his leg and pulled it out from underneath him, sending both feet into the air before he crashed onto the floor.
Another Arka Montessori teacher watched what happened and failed to intervene.
The Harris Family Was Given a Different Explanation at Pickup
When the boy’s mother arrived to pick him up, she found her 4-year-old crying hysterically.
She was initially told that the children had gotten into a fight and that the teacher had only separated them.
But she trusted what she was seeing on her son’s face and pushed for more answers.
The surveillance footage revealed what had actually happened inside the classroom.
The Harris family’s son was left with bruising and scratches on his arms, post-traumatic headaches, and lasting emotional trauma that made returning to daycare increasingly difficult.
The lawsuit describes the betrayal at the center of this case simply: the safe environment the family had been promised had turned into a “child fight club.”
Texas Regulators Cited Arka Montessori After the Incident
FOX 4 highlighted the findings of an independent investigation conducted by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Child-Care Licensing Division.
State regulators cited Arka Montessori for multiple violations connected to what happened to the Harris family’s son.
Those violations included using prohibited methods of discipline, grabbing and pulling a child, yelling, improper physical restraint, and failing to ensure that caregivers protected children in their care.
The state’s findings reinforced one of the central issues in the lawsuit: the adults entrusted with keeping this 4-year-old safe repeatedly failed to protect him.
“One teacher harmed him. Another teacher watched. The daycare failed to prevent either one,” Russell Button said.
Arka Montessori Had a History of Safety Violations
The lawsuit also points to a broader history of child safety problems at Arka Montessori.
Since opening in 2024, the daycare has received multiple state citations, including incidents in which children were left unattended outside or alone in a classroom.
Those prior violations matter because daycare safety depends on leadership recognizing problems, correcting failures, and making sure the same risks are not allowed to continue.
Parents can review a daycare’s inspection and compliance history through the Texas Health and Human Services website before enrolling their child.
The Harris Family Wants Other Parents to Know What Happened
The Harris family came forward because they want accountability for what happened to their son, but they also want other parents to know what can happen when daycare safety failures are ignored.
Their 4-year-old trusted the adults around him to step in when he needed protection.
Instead, one adult became part of the confrontation while another stood by and watched.
The Button Law Firm filed this lawsuit to seek accountability for the Harris family and to bring attention to the responsibility every daycare has to properly hire, train, supervise, and monitor the people entrusted with young children.
At The Button Law Firm, we represent kids in daycare and child injury cases to help them get life-changing results and justice against bad daycares, schools, and companies that abuse and neglect the safety of children.
If your child was seriously injured at daycare or you have concerns about how a daycare handled an incident involving your child, call 214-699-4409, email intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out our contact form to share your story or experience with our team.
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