Menifee Union School District officials had no comment this week on a lawsuit filed by the guardian of an autistic student alleging mistreatment at Hans Christensen Middle School.
According to the federal lawsuit filed May 14 on behalf of a 13-year-old male identified only as R.M.B., the nonverbal student was locked in a restroom for most of a school day in 2025 and was taunted by teachers. Defendants named in the lawsuit are Menifee Union School District, teacher Lancelot Thomas, and principal Steven Melvin.
“Defendants confined R.M.B. alone and against his will in a bathroom for the majority of the school day, leaving him without support and subjecting him to serious physical, emotional, and developmental harm,” the lawsuit states. “In addition to the torturous confinement, Defendants withheld food from R.M.B. and taunted, mocked, threatened, and screamed at him, all to the detriment of his learning, safety, and physical, emotional, and mental health.
“Defendants’ actions reflect District’s custom, policy, and practice of permitting the use of excessive restraint, confinement, seclusion, and isolation on its students like R.M.B., amounting to deliberate indifference.”
In an email to Menifee 24/7, MUSD communications director Devina Ortega wrote, “For this specific situation, pursuant to Board Policy 9321, the District respectfully declines to comment on matters that are currently the subject of pending litigation.”
This is the second recent incident in which conduct of MUSD officials have been called into question, and in which MUSD administration declined to comment. On May 26, Chester Morrison Elementary School teacher Staci Baker was arrested on suspicion of being intoxicated on campus. MUSD had no comment on the incident.
In November 2024, Menifee 24/7 investigated complaints by parents at Taawila Elementary School about Baker’s alleged mistreatment of students. At that time, Ortega responded to a Menifee 24/7 inquiry that “The District is aware of this situation. Please know that it has been handled as appropriate.” Baker was later transferred to Chester Morrison.
Ortega was listed as CC on an email to Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Root, who did not respond to Menifee 24/7’s emails about the 2024 incident. In her email on Nov. 20, 2025, Ortega wrote, “The Superintendent is often busy and not always readily available. To ensure the most timely and efficient handling of media requests, please direct all future inquiries to me.”
Following Baker’s May 26 arrest, parents flooded social media with complaints about the district’s handling of Baker’s earlier alleged misconduct. Parents have also expressed concern on social media sites about the district’s handling of the R.M.B. case.
Both incidents occurred just weeks after Root was honored by the Menifee City Council on her selection as the state Superintendent of the Year.
The R.M.B lawsuit alleges nine violations by the district and the individuals named, including negligence; intentional infliction of emotional distress; violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and false imprisonment.
The lawsuit states that school and district officials were aware of the student’s diagnosis and had placed him in on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) that mandated the use of the least restrictive behavior interventions.
“Defendants were aware that routine/schedule changes, changes in environment, loud noises, raised voices, and angry tones of voice were triggers for R.M.B. that cause agitation and severe distress,” lawsuit states. ‘Defendants were also aware that R.M.B. required additional assistance with feeding, toileting, and getting dressed.”
The lawsuit also states that, concerned about her son’s increased emotional behavior, the mother placed a recording device in his backpack to monitor his day. The recording allegedly “captured loud conversations and interactions that others could hear, among Thomas and other school staff, between Thomas and R.M.B., and between other school staff and R.M.B.
“Tragically, the recording revealed that on Feb. 28, 2025, Thomas and other school staff punished and discriminated against R.M.B. on the basis of his disability by confining him unsupervised in a bathroom for multiple hours. Defendants District and Melvin also engaged in such punishment and discrimination by allowing this to occur.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and requests a jury trial.
