Death of Max Benson

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On November 30, 2018, 13-year-old Max Benson (October 2005 – 30 November 2018), an autistic boy from Davis, California, died at the hospital from cardiac complications as a result of being held in an extended prone physical restraint by staff at his now-defunct K-12 non-public school, Guiding Hands School in El Dorado County, California where he was placed a few months before by Davis Joint Unified School District who denied Max and two other students a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE).[1]

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Davis Joint Unified School District in California had entered into a settlement after OCR examined whether the district’s use of restraint and seclusion in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years denied its students with disabilities a FAPE in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), and their implementing regulations. OCR determined that the district placed three of its students with disabilities in nonpublic school settings and violated their rights under Section 504 and Title II because Davis Joint Unified School District:[1]

  • Failed to ensure that district staff making placement decisions for these students had access to and carefully considered information obtained about the use of physical restraint and/or seclusion with these students
  • Separately failed to ensure that those making decisions regarding behavioral interventions for these students were knowledgeable about each student, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement
  • Failed to reevaluate these students to determine whether the repeated use of restraint and seclusion for these students denied them a FAPE and if additional aids and services were appropriate to provide a FAPE
  • Denied a FAPE to all three students based on the above failures and resulting harms to the students[1]

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing investigated, and after a 10-day evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Law Judge conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearing, in which the complainant was represented by the Attorney General, the Commission issued a decision that dismissed the Accusation against the principal of the nonpublic school finding school staff were properly trained in use of restraints.

While Benson was initially reported to have been 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weigh 280 pounds (130 kg), these figures were disputed by the family, who stated that he was “8 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter” than what the school claimed to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.[2][3] During the extended physical restraint, Benson became unresponsive. Following a 10-day evidentiary hearing conducted by an Administrative Law Judge, who issued a decision adopted by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that found the school properly trained staff in restraints. According to the investigation conducted by the California Department of Education, which afterward suspended Guiding Hands School's certification, Benson was held in a prone restraint for an extended period of time, and he urinated on himself and vomited.[4] Guiding Hands staff failed to call emergency services promptly after Benson became unconscious.[4] Benson was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center, where he subsequently died two days later from cardiac complications. Three staff from Guiding Hands School are facing criminal charges in Benson's death, including felony manslaughter; a civil lawsuit has also been filed against Guiding Hands, several former employees, and against Davis Joint Unified School District and its employees that placed Max at the school and other Northern California school districts that contracted with the school.[5][6]

Death[edit]

Cause[edit]

Max Benson
Born
Max Benson

(2005-10-00)October 2005
Sacramento, California
Died30 November 2018(2018-11-30) (aged 13)
UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California
Cause of deathSuffocation from a physical restraint
ParentStacia Langley

On November 28, 2018, staff at Guiding Hands school held Max Benson in a prone (face-down) physical restraint for more than 90 minutes.[5][7] While being restrained, Benson vomited and urinated on himself before becoming unconscious.[7][8] According to a civil lawsuit filed against Guiding Hands School, it took 10 minutes for a school nurse to arrive after staff called for help, and the school failed to call paramedics until nearly a half hour after Benson lost consciousness.[5] Emergency services transported Benson first to Mercy Hospital in Folsom, California, then to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where Benson was pronounced dead 2 days after the restraint.[3]

Vigils[edit]

In December 2018, vigils were held for Benson outside of Guiding Hands School and in Davis, California, where Benson had lived with his family. Attendees mourned his death and called for an end to the use of restraints in schools.[9][10] Many attended because they knew and loved Benson and his family, while others came to call attention to what they described as a "lack of educational resources for students with autism within the school district."[9] Max's family did not attend the vigil, but expressed through a family friend their appreciation to those who did, “and for sharing their fond memories of Max."[9]

Another vigil was held in Placerville, California for Benson nearly a year after his death.[11] Some people wore blue shirts with a photo of Benson and text that read, “What you permit, you promote,” referring to the complicity they said schools and teachers engage in by allowing aggressive and prone restraints on students.[11] Vigil organizers said the International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion announced worldwide vigils in honor and remembrance of Max.[11] Several people sent in letters of support, some of them strangers, and lit candles to call for justice and policy changes.[11]

Investigations and criminal charges[edit]

California Department of Education Investigation[edit]

Shortly after Benson's death, the California Department of Education (CDE) suspended Guiding Hands School's certification due to the school's failure to notify the CDE in writing of the circumstances surrounding Benson's death, and violation of multiple state rules regarding the use of physical restraints on students.[3][12] The CDE had also investigated other complaints about the treatment of students at the school.[13]

Criminal charges[edit]

On November 12, 2019, El Dorado County prosecutors filed charges, including felony involuntary manslaughter, against Guiding Hands School site administrator Cindy Keller, school principal Starrane Meyers, and Kimberly Wohlwend, the teacher accused of being among those who restrained Benson. El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Mark Ralphs ordered that the accused not teach school or daycare while the case is pending. If convicted, Keller, Meyers, and Wohlwend could face up to four years in state prison.[14] Charges were also filed against the school as an entity.[14] As of January 2022, court proceedings were ongoing in the case.[15] In July 2022, a criminal grand jury in El Dorado County indicted all three defendants on charges of involuntary manslaughter. [16] The criminal trial is scheduled to begin in September 2024.

Civil lawsuit[edit]

A civil suit was filed in November 2019 against Guiding Hands School and several former employees, including Meyers, Keller, and Wohlwend.[8][14][15] The suit was filed on behalf of Benson's family and other families of Guiding Hands students and alleges that Wohlwend restrained Benson with the assistance of other school staff members, including Jill Watson, Betty Morgan and Le’Mon Thomas.[8][14][15] The suit also names area school districts that contracted with and sent students to Guiding Hands School, along with the California Department of Education and special education administrative bodies in Yolo County and Amador County.[14][15] Davis Joint Unified School District Special Education Administrators Patrick McGrew, Jennifer Galas and Riley Chessman[17] were also named as defendants. From January to July 2022, the case was pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement with California's Davis Joint Unified School District in Investigation Regarding the Use of Restraint and Seclusion". www.ed.gov. U.S. Department of Education. December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Schuknecht, Cat (December 9, 2018). "School Where Student With Autism Died Violated State Regulations, Officials Say". NPR.org. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Morrar, Sawsan (December 7, 2018). "School where student with autism collapsed and later died violated restraint rules, California regulators find". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Watts, Julie (November 14, 2019). "Civil Lawsuit Reveals More About Moments Leading Up To Max Benson's Death". Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Morrar, Sawsan; Smith, Darrell (November 12, 2019). "Manslaughter charges filed against staff at El Dorado Hills school in autistic student's death". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "3 California school employees to be charged with manslaughter in death of special needs student". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Jamieson, Amber (November 13, 2019). "Three School Employees Are Being Charged After A 13-Year-Old Autistic Boy Died After Being Restrained". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Morrar, Sawsan (November 12, 2019). "Exclusive: Mother speaks about autistic son who died after being restrained at El Dorado Hills school". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Keene, Lauren. "Vigil honors Davis boy who died following school restraint". Davis Enterprise. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Morrar, Sawsan (December 16, 2018). "Community mourns boy who died after being put in restraint at El Dorado Hills school". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d Morrar, Sawsan (November 17, 2019). "Supporters of student who died after being restrained call for awareness and changes". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Morrar, Sawsan (December 6, 2018). "Updated: Autistic student dead after being restrained at school; state suspends certification". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Morrar, Sawsan (January 15, 2019). "School where boy with autism was restrained, later died has been investigated by state multiple times". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e Smith, Darrell (November 13, 2019). "Former Guiding Hands staffers arraigned in boy's death, could face prison time". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d Morrar, Sawsan (October 13, 2020). "Court hearing for former Guiding Hands staffers in boy's death at school moves to January". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  16. ^ McGough, Michael (July 22, 2022). "Grand jury indicts California school staffers in 2018 death of 13-year-old autistic boy". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "20-635 - Langley et al v. Guiding Hands School, Inc. et al". GovInfo. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "Langley et al v. Guiding Hands School, Inc. et al". Justia. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023.
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