The mother of an autistic student who alleged that an elementary special education teacher’s assistant body slammed her son last April will be awarded a $1 million settlement in her lawsuit against the Clark County School District.
The Clark County School Board on Thursday approved the seven-figure payment, which is related to a 2025 lawsuit brought against the district and three of its employees by Yazmina Ruiz on behalf of her son, identified in court filings as John Doe.
The lawsuit alleged that the assault was captured on school surveillance video and that it showed teacher’s assistant Alicia Fletcher “forcefully” grab the then-10-year-old boy’s arm and rub dirt into his hair at Red Rock Elementary School on April 24, 2025.
Fletcher later grabbed the boy’s leg and “body slammed” him against a concrete planter near the school’s jungle gym, according to the lawsuit.
Teacher Heidi Hunter and security monitor Deonte Harris were named as defendants in the complaint as well, accused of failing to protect the boy from Fletcher’s alleged assault.
Court records show the Clark County district attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges against Fletcher, and neither Hunter nor Harris were charged with a crime related to the alleged incident.
In court filings related to the lawsuit, Fletcher’s lawyers claimed she was “without sufficient knowledge to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations” in Ruiz’s lawsuit “and therefore denies same.”
Lisa Zastrow, who represents Fletcher, said in an email Thursday that the settlement includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing by Fletcher and “will resolve the case and allow all involved to move forward.”
Attorneys for the district, Harris and Hunter in court filings denied the allegations that Ruiz’s lawsuit brought against them. The lawyers did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Ruiz’s attorney, Andre Lagomarsino, declined to comment on the case on Thursday before the board meeting. He previously said that Ruiz’s family was “disappointed to hear that (Fletcher) was not prosecuted for behavior that was clearly caught on video that harmed” the boy.
The Thursday vote allows Superintendent Jhone Ebert, the school board and the district to sign the settlement agreement. It also authorizes general counsel Jon Okazaki to execute the agreement.
The approval marked the second million-dollar settlement awarded by the board this school year. Two parents of a special needs teenager were approved a settlement in their lawsuit where they claimed a substitute teacher hit their son with a shoe.
At least three school district educators have been arrested for allegedly battering or assaulting special needs students since the school year’s start on Aug. 10.
One Las Vegas elementary school teacher dragged a special needs student by his shirt, according to police. Another elementary educator slapped the hand of a special needs student before causing another to fall and split open his forehead, police said. A third elementary worker on Wednesday was arrested after police alleged she slapped a special needs six-year-old with a stack of papers.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
