The family of a 4-year-old who choked to death last year while eating lunch at school is suing Cedar Hill ISD.
The student, identified only as Mireya, died in January 2023 at Highlands Elementary School after choking on a piece of food during lunch. A school employee tried to help and alerted the school nurse, but neither they nor the emergency first responders called to the scene could save the child.
In a statement shortly following Mireya’s death, Cedar Hill ISD Superintendent Gerald Hudson said that the district’s athletic department provides annual CPR training to all campus staff and that supervising nurses, clinic aides, and cafeteria managers are trained in both CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
“But we will do more,” he added.
The family claims that the school district is responsible for their child’s death because it did not follow federal policy to provide for the needs of a student with a disability. Mireya had been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, which is a recognized disability under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The act requires that public schools establish an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for a child with a disability. However, Maireya’s family claims the school failed to establish and follow an IEP, leading to the girl’s death.
“The Cedar Hill Independent School District, entrusted with the sacred duty of nurturing and educating our children, failed [Mireya] not out of mere oversight, but through a series of conscious decisions to ignore her specific educational and safety needs,” the lawsuit states, per WFAA.
Mireya, who is referred to in the lawsuit by her initials, was the only special needs child at Highlands Elementary School at the time. The suit alleges that she was not given proper supervision or the needed accommodations, including assistance with her bathroom needs. She was often isolated from other students and did not receive the needed specialized resources.
The lawsuit claims that the district violated the child’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, IDEA, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Had Mireya been provided with the needed accommodations, including proper mealtime supervision and immediate medical assistance, her death could have been avoided, the suit alleges.
The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
A representative of Cedar Hill ISD told WFAA that the district has no comment on the pending litigation at present.