Former teacher sues Columbia Public Schools, alleging retaliation over isolation rooms

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Columbia Public Schools teacher alleges in a newly filed lawsuit that she was "forced out" of CPS for taking and sharing photos of rooms used to isolate students at the district's school for children with special educational needs.

Angela Jolley says in the lawsuit filed last week in Boone County that CPS administrators began to "punish" her after she took photos of isolation rooms used at the district's CORE building and shared them with the media. She described the rooms, where students would be placed when they acted out, as 4 feet by 6 feet square and 8 feet high and made of plywood.

Jolley says in her suit that she shared the photos out of concerns that using the rooms was hurting students and violating district policy. Jolley alleges in the suit that she was transferred from one job to another until she finally resigned last summer.

The rooms became an issue in the school district and in the Missouri General Assembly. Jolley testified before a state House committee about the use of the rooms at CPS in March 2020.

CPS last year settled a lawsuit in which parents claimed administrators at Beulah Ralph Elementary had kept their child isolated in a room for hours. CPS denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said the district hasn't seen the lawsuit yet.

"We cannot comment specifically on pending or on-going litigation, however the district is confident in its employment decisions and intends to vigorously defend itself," she said in a statement.