Agency is sued after 5-year-old wanders away
Parents of an autistic 5-year-old boy are suing the Hawaii Department of Education after he wandered away from his elementary school and ended up 5 miles away in Waikiki.
The federal lawsuit filed last week by Kipeni Lutu Jr. and Gabrielle Valdes accuses Kauluwela Elementary of negligent supervision. Lutu went to pick up his son from the school near Chinatown in February 2014 and found out he had been missing for a few hours, the parents’ attorney, Michael Green, said Monday. Lutu called police and started frantically searching for him.
“Imagine a parent looking in a canal to see if his son’s body is floating in there,” Green said, adding that Lutu also searched inside tents of nearby homeless encampments.
Police eventually found the boy running behind a bus along Kuhio Avenue near the Waikiki Trade Center, the lawsuit said.
The boy, who wasn’t physically injured, hasn’t been able to explain how he got to Waikiki, but his parents think he might have followed someone onto a bus, Green said.
There were only seven or eight children in the class, and teachers were supposed to keep a close eye on the boy, said Green, who described him as severely autistic.
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“Immediately following the incident in 2014, the school held meetings to review its security procedures,” state Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said in an email. “The administration and staff at Kauluwela Elementary has been vigilant at procedures to keep students safe.”
The boy now attends a different school. Valdes has quit her job to monitor her son more closely, Green said: “You lose trust in the system when you commit your children to be cared for and they drop the ball.”
Green said he hasn’t decided how much money in damages the parents will seek.
11 responses to “Agency is sued after 5-year-old wanders away”
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Ka-Ching! And they say Hawaii doesn’t have a lottery.
What color is money? GREEN.
So, does she go to school with him daily? If not, why did she quit her job? Maybe she should homeschool him.
Ignorant comments here,same people. First, DOE will get sued all the time because of inept. Secondly an autistic child needs therapist and specialty teachers
. So homeschooling is out. And thank god for attorneys like Green that help countless victims of government and DOE ignorance.
Green drives around town in a gold Bentley. I think he’s focused on helping himself.
Oh please. She quit her job. If she isn’t sitting in a classroom with him all day long “to monitor her son more closely” there wasn’t a reason to quit…other than to set up her scenario for a law suit.
Ignorant comments? You are the ignorant one kuli. This is strictly about the money. There was no harm done to the child so what is the issue? Distress? Lost time? How do you put a dollar amount on that? It was a potentially bad situation that ended well so why call in the ambulance chaser? A fast buck to be had in an out of court settlement? You bet. The state and it’s tax payers lose every time.
Green is successful because he is a great attorney. I’d hire him if I ever needed his services.
Agree with those “ka-ching” comments. It’s just too easy to sue these days. As well- intentioned as it may be; young special-needs children should NOT be in regular classrooms; especially a child who is “severely autistic.” It’s unfair to the teacher who now must devote a large share of her time & energies to only these few students (for learning as well as dealing with their challenging behavior issues); unfair to all the OTHER children in her/his class regarding the learning & instructional guidance they OUGHT TO be receiving; & unfair to those very children themselves who NEED more individualized attention & education to truly thrive & grow well. These parents sound like they just conveniently drop off their special-needs child for the school day & then go off to their lives; expecting the teacher/school to give 100% SPECIALIZED care in a REGULAR classroom situation. However, it’s parental negligence & gross irresponsibility to do this if your child is special-needs!! And “Severely autistic” indicates that your child is EXTRA Special-Needs. Why would you just plop him into a regular classroom; leave for the day; & then expect a non-Autistically trained elementary school teacher with a classroomful of 15+ young children to give him all the specialized attention & educational/behavioral guidance that he needs & deserves?! Then YOU get upset & sue them when things go awry? The sad part is that a jury will probably award these negligent parents their desired large monetary reward for their irresponsibility. I’m glad that their 5-year old severely autistic little boy is safe; but also sympathize with Kauluwela Elementary School. I know firsthand that it’s a GREAT school with wonderful, competent, caring teachers!!
Tranquilizer, first 7-8 children in his class tell you it’s a special needs class. In 2014 DOE should know the rules on Autistic Spectrum. Every child deserve an education no matter how severe the disability. The child does not take away from the normal classes. If they do its the DOES fault. To blame a special needs child is vicious. Then blaming the parents is worse. Go take a tranquilizer please.
It is simple math. There is only so much money to split up. Take that number, divide by the number of students and allocate the same amount per student. If having an individual special needs teacher means there is only enough money for a total of 8 hours a week, that is what it is.