LOVELAND, Colo. -- A Colorado teacher is speaking out after she says she was beaten and bullied by her own student, and prohibited by her superiors from reporting the abuse.
“I was told that was my job and I was to get in there and take it," Carrie Giesler told KDVR.
Giesler is suing the Thompson School District in Loveland for failing to protect her from a violent student and violating her rights.
Giesler was offered a job teaching a 13-year-old boy with autism beginning in the 2014-15 school year. She said he began physically attacking her in October and continued for six months.
“Walked up and open face, open handed slapped me, punched me in the ribs, kicked me in the back, spitting in my face,” Giesler told said.
Giesler claims the special needs student also threatened to kill her and drew pictures of the weapons he would use.
“The entire time with him going, 'Are you scared of me? Are you scared of me? You should be. I’m going to kill you, bitch,'” she said.
But instead of punishing the student, Giesler said her superiors prohibited her from documenting the incidents or calling police. Still, Giesler said she reported the abuse to her bosses a dozen times -- in October, November and December 2014, and January, February and March 2015.
It wasn’t until Giesler said the student broke her thumb, and police responded and third-degree assault charges were filed, that the district finally took action -- against her. She eventually lost her job.
Boulder attorney Ronald Jung is suing Thompson School District on Giesler’s behalf.
“You have the right to call the police when you are in danger, that is a constitutional right," he said. "They contributed or created this dangerous situation and then they told her, by the way, you can’t call the police."
Giesler said she wants to see a change in policy that will protect teachers in the future.
“There is no mandated regulation that gives teachers the proper training to deal with violent special needs students and it needs to stop. We need to make some changes in our school system,” she said.
A district spokeswoman said in a statement: “It would be inappropriate for Thompson School District to comment on a pending legal matter that involves personnel.”
