DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News ) – The family of a former Dallas ISD special needs teacher filed a $20 million federal lawsuit against the district this week, alleging negligence and a cover up surrounding her death.
B’Ivory LaMarr is the family’s attorney and said Sharla Sims died in 2021 of complications from an unprovoked attack by a student with a documented history of violence.
“What’s most concerning is that she actually encountered the same student on two prior occasions when she was kicked and violently punched. These incidents were witnessed. There were reports made to the school district,” he said.
According the LaMarr, despite the student’s known history of aggressions, DISD officials left the student in the classroom with Sims without any additional safety measures.
After the attack at H. Grady Spruce High School on January 8, 2021, Sims sought medical attention as she experienced intense pain in her abdomen following the attack.
She was hospitalized and succumbed to her injuries on January 11.
As the family grieved and searched for answers, LaMarr said the district never told the family about the attack that led to Sharla’s death .
“Two years later, there was a whistleblower who happened to be performing an audit related to some grade changing and some other alleged scheme that was going on within the district and she uncovered a red folder that contained all this information related to this alleged cover up,” he said.
The family said it heard that the student allegedly involved in Sharla’s death might still be attending school in the district.
“We have information that the student was just transferred to another school after the incident involving Sharla’s death,” said LaMarr.
Attorneys for the Sims’ family are calling for a full investigation of the DISD for what they believe to be a cover-up surrounding Sharla’s death.
“Thanks to this whistleblower’s courageous actions has definitely provided the family some level of closure and we believe the district should be held liable… obviously financially for the loss of life of Sharla Sims. She died a slow death. She died three days after this incident. You go through her medical records…the amount of pain. She went into a coma. She suffered seizures,” said Lamar.
The family also wants to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.
“Ultimately we also want to see corrective actions. We want to make sure there are proper protocols in place to ensure that nothing like this happens again. There should never be a cover up. Parents and staff members… we all entrust the school district to help enrich out community not cover up something like this that is so scandalous,” said Lamar.
He and the family will be holding a press conference on Monday outside Samuel High School at 1 p.m.
WBAP News reached out to Dallas ISD and are awaiting a response.
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