A former Cedarcreek Elementary School first-grade teacher who claimed she was injured by a special needs student and was then fired in retaliation for raising a concern about her safety is suing the district.
Krystal Huber, who began at the school in July 2022, “repeatedly reported feeling unsafe” with a particular student in her classroom, and identifies the boy in her classroom of “high social/emotional need” students as displaying “extreme violent tendencies,” according to her complaint.
Her lawsuit sets up a timeline of various incidents that happened in her classroom involving the student that led to her claims.
Colleen Hawkins, superintendent for the Saugus Union School District, declined to comment on the lawsuit in an email Tuesday because it was part of pending litigation.
“Mrs. Huber eventually developed a mental condition, making her job difficult to perform and requiring an accommodation,” according to the “general allegations” section of her lawsuit. “When Mrs. Huber requested an accommodation, she was sent home without pay.”
Huber’s lawsuit claims that the Saugus district terminated her employment for the same reason.
The school district denied “generally and specifically each and every allegation and cause of action” in Huber’s complaint, according to a response from the district’s counsel in January.
The concern started in August 2023 with a meeting between Huber and Cedarcreek Principal Merly Soni, with Huber raising a concern from the previous year’s kindergarten teacher, who said this same student kicked her so hard she required surgery, according to the lawsuit.
“Other aides that worked with (the student) quit because of the danger posed by this student,” according to the lawsuit.
At an Oct. 24, 2023, meeting with Huber, the principal and the student’s parents, who met to discuss the individualized education plan provided to the boy based on his needs, the parents were notified about an increase in the child’s aggressive behavior.
One week later, Huber met with a member of the district’s “Pro-active Problem-Solving Team,” and Huber told the staff member how she felt unsafe around the student’s “violent tendencies,” according to the lawsuit.
Almost a month later, Huber said a cabinet was repeatedly slammed against her head and back by the same student, requiring the teacher to go to urgent care for her treatment of injuries, according to Huber’s complaint.
On Jan. 11, 2024, the student attacked Huber again, striking her repeatedly in the back of her knees, causing injury, and for the second time in two months, Huber filed a concern with the Company Nurse Injury Hotline, according to the lawsuit.
In the latter incident, Huber claimed in the lawsuit that her injuries came while she was shielding other students from the student, and an injury to her back made her job more difficult.
One week later, the student slammed a laptop down on Huber’s hands, and not long after, Huber requested an accommodation after “she developed a mental condition,” according to the complaint.
The district failed to engage in an interactive process, and then about one month later in February 2024, they let her know she would be sent home without pay until the end of the school year in June, according to the lawsuit.
In May 2024, Huber filed a complaint with the school district, and the complaint was rejected in June 2024.
On Aug. 9, 2024, Huber received a notice of case closure and right-to-sue notice from the state’s Civil Rights Department. She put the district on notice four days later, according to her lawsuit.
Judge Melvin Sandig ordered the case into the L.A. County Superior Court’s case-settlement system designed to avoid litigation. Failing that, the case also has a tentative hearing date in late 2026.
