Bralon Frazier, Jr. was a student at Fullbright Elementary School who was severely mentally and physically disabled, spent most of his time in an activity chair, could not speak, walk, or swallow, and was fed through a G-tube. On November 7, 2022, according to the complaint, two of the paraprofessionals typically assigned to his classroom were absent and no substitute was provided. An untrained paraprofessional, Janet Miles, fed Bralon mid-day. When Bralon later showed a spit-up like substance coming from his mouth, paraprofessional Samantha Mehran removed him from his chair and placed him on his back. Teacher Katherine Woodling then joined Mehran, and the two changed Bralon's clothes and returned him to his chair without calling for medical help. Approximately thirty to forty minutes later, Woodling noticed that Bralon's condition had not improved and called for medical assistance. The school nurse found Bralon with blue lips, a faint pulse, cold hands, a sluggish reaction to light, and vomit on him, and performed CPR. Emergency medical technicians were unable to revive him, and he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.
His mother, ShaNetra Frazier, suing as special administrator of his estate, brought claims against the District, Woodling, Mehran, and Miles under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, the Arkansas Civil Action for Crime Victims Act, and common law theories including negligence, wrongful death, and outrage.
Judge Brian S. Miller of the Eastern District of Arkansas denied the motion to dismiss on the section 1983 claims, concluding that Frazier plausibly alleged both a failure-to-act custom and a failure-to-train theory against the District. On the custom theory, the court noted that another student's parents had previously complained to the District about Miles's lack of training when feeding a G-tube student, and the District responded only by assigning a different feeder for that child while allowing Miles to continue feeding other G-tube students. On the failure-to-train theory, the court pointed to allegations that the District had actual or constructive notice of Miles's inadequate training and to complaints about the lack of emergency training for special education professionals. The individual capacity claims against Woodling, Mehran, and Miles also survived, based on allegations that they failed to properly feed Bralon, properly evaluate him, timely obtain medical attention, and act in accord with his Individualized Education Plan.
The ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims likewise survived. The court concluded that Frazier sufficiently alleged Bralon suffered an adverse action as a result of his disability, pointing to the alleged inadequate classroom staffing, the failure to hire competent staff, the improper positioning of Bralon on his back after vomiting when he could not swallow, and the delay of at least thirty minutes in seeking medical attention. The court did, however, dismiss Frazier's requests for emotional distress damages and punitive damages on those two federal disability claims, citing Supreme Court precedent barring such relief under section 504 and the ADA.
On the state claims, the court denied dismissal of the negligence, wrongful death, vicarious liability, and Arkansas Civil Rights Act claims, allowing Frazier to take discovery on whether the District carries liability insurance that would waive tort immunity. The civil action by crime victim claim — premised on allegations that Woodling and Mehran committed first-degree endangerment of the welfare of a minor — also survived, though the court described it as thin. The outrage claim against Woodling and Mehran was dismissed; the court concluded that the alleged conduct, while part of a tragic case, did not meet Arkansas's narrow standard requiring conduct that is extreme and outrageous, beyond all possible bounds of decency, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.