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Mother sues Metro Schools after she says no one reported her son’s serious injury

Mother sues Metro Schools after she says no one reported her son’s serious injury

Shannikka Sherrill is still looking for answers after what she said Staff at Granbery Elementary in Nashville gave no indication that their son suffered a serious head injury.

Because of this, Sherrill filed a lawsuit against Metro Schools (MNPS), claiming they failed to prevent this incident.

“We attend therapy appointments every week, twice a week, because he is emotionally traumatized. He is mentally drained. “This is what happened to a seven-year-old child who couldn’t speak words,” Sherrill said through tears.

Sherrill says Jayce Middlebrooks, who has autism and cannot speak, came home from school on Oct. 16, 2023, with mysterious lumps on his head, bruises on his face and difficulty staying awake and alert.

Doctors told Sherrill that Jayce had a concussion, but she says teachers and staff did not communicate or file an incident report about what happened until Sherrill requested an evaluation, a violation of Metro School Policy 6.304.

Two days later, the principal emailed Sherrill and informed him that Jayce had suffered a head injury because a student kicked him in the head and/or because of his behavior while headbanging.

Jayce’s individual education plan states that he should have a personal caregiver with him at all times.

“I feel like after this incident they were more focused on themselves than trying to make things better for Jayce. I got no reassurance that things would get better. Actually, it got worse,” Sherrill says, talking about the other Metro school Jayce wanted to attend.

Sherrill says it didn’t go well.

“We have five different people throughout the school day. We are at school for seven hours. “We change people every day, we lose things, we don’t send homework, we don’t know how to use the device, we don’t know if the device works,” Sherrill says.

This includes an incident where Jayce accidentally got his hands on a chemical agent and sprayed it in his face. Sherrill says she didn’t receive an incident report until a month later.

Sherrill believes MNPS needs to train and communicate better with its employees.

While MNPS cannot comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson told FOX17 News that several professional development courses are offered over the summer and throughout the year for both special education teachers and paraprofessionals.

“To every other parent who has a child with special needs, I say: advocate, come ask questions and demand answers. Do not give up. You are your child’s biggest advocate,” says Sherrill.

Since then, Jayce has been attending a private school specifically designed for children with special needs.

Sherrill says he is doing much better and feels like the staff is helping Jayce get back to the way he once was.

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