A Boise mother has filed a $50 million tort claim, saying the Boise School District and Hillcrest Elementary School staff failed to protect her 8-year-old son from repeated sexual assaults.
The mother and school officials agree on at least one point: the alleged assaults occurred during the 2023-24 school year, but weren’t reported until this spring.
The assaults took place in a school restroom that was left unsupervised, according to the claim, obtained by Idaho Education News through a public records request.
“The restroom in question was the only bathroom accessible to students during lunch and break,” the claim says. “The school … allegedly chose to stop supervising this restroom.”
The tort claim says one of the alleged attackers “was known to the school and the school resource officer to be a troublemaker.” The claimant’s son came forward only after this classmate transferred out of Boise schools.
The boy did not mention the alleged assaults until the end of his fourth-grade year, the mother told Idaho News 6, which first reported on the tort claim last week.
“He doesn’t want to go to school because he thinks everybody’s mean,” the mother told Idaho News 6. “And that’s really hard for me to hear.”
The response from school officials is a matter of dispute.
The tort claim says it’s “unclear” whether district and school officials reported the abuse allegations. Under Boise district policy, employees must report such allegations to the district’s Title IX coordinator and the state Department of Health and Welfare.
According to the claim, the mother immediately reported the allegations to school officials, and her repeated voicemails and emails went unanswered for 24 hours. “When she did hear back, she was offered sympathies and resources for (her son) to get into therapy.”
District and school officials say they received reports in late May of an alleged assault at Hillcrest in 2023-24, as well as a possible assault at a private residence.
“We reported both immediately to Health and Welfare and Boise Police,” district officials and Hillcrest Principal Adria David said in a Thursday memo to Hillcrest families.
Filed Aug. 4, the tort claim is not a civil lawsuit — but it is a possible precursor to one. If the district does not respond, the mother can file a lawsuit.
The tort claim seeks at least $50 million in damages.
“The extent of claimant’s injuries and damages are not fully known at this time; however, claimant has suffered and will continue to suffer from emotional distress.”
A district statement did not address the tort claim directly.
“While we will not discuss pending litigation at this time, we want to reassure our families that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We are committed to transparency and will continue to uphold the standards our community expects from us.”
Meanwhile, the mother who filed the tort claim told Idaho News 6 that she is working flexible jobs, such as Uber and Lyft, while considering homeschooling her son. “He’s gonna have lifelong problems.”