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Lawsuit: Kansas school employee locked teen with Down syndrome in closet, storage cage

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Lawsuit: Kansas school employee locked teen with Down syndrome in closet, storage cage


An employee of a rural Kansas school district repeatedly shoved a teenager with Down syndrome into a utility closet, hit the boy and once photographed him locked in a cage used to store athletic equipment, a lawsuit claims.

The suit filed Friday in federal court said the paraprofessional assigned to the 15-year-old sent the photo to staff in the Kaw Valley district, comparing the teen to an animal and “making light of his serious, demeaning and discriminatory conduct.”

The teen’s parents alleged in the suit that the paraprofessional did not have a key to the cage and had to enlist help from other district staff to open the door and release their son, who is identified in the complaint only by his initials. The suit, which includes the photo, said it was not clear how long the teen was locked in the cage.

The lawsuit names the paraprofessional, other special education staff and the district, which enrolls around 1,100 and is based in St. Marys, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Topeka.

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No attorneys are listed for the district in online court records and phone messages and emails left with district staff were not immediately returned.

The suit said the teen’s placement in the closet and cage stemmed from “no behaviors whatsoever, or for minor behaviors” that stemmed from his disability.

The paraprofessional also is accused in the suit of yelling derogatory words within inches of the teen’s face on a daily basis and pulling and yanking the teen by the shirt collar around the school at least once a week.

At least once, the paraprofessional struck the teen in the neck and face, the suit said. The teen who speaks in short, abbreviated sentences, described the incident using the words “hit,” “closet” and the paraprofessional’s first name.

The suit said the paraprofessional also made the teen stay in soiled clothing for long periods and denied him food during lunchtime.

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The suit said some staff expressed concerns to the special education teacher who oversaw the paraprofessional, as well as the district’s special education director. But the suit said neither of them intervened, even though there had been other complaints about the paraprofessional’s treatment of disabled students in the past.

The suit said the defendants described their treatment of the teen as “tough love” and “how you have to handle him.”

The suit said the director instructed subordinates not to report their concerns to the state child welfare agency. However, when the parents raised concerns, a district employee reported them to the agency, citing abuse and neglect concerns, the suit said.

No criminal charges are listed in online court records for the paraprofessional or any of the employees named in the suit. And no disciplinary actions are listed for staff in a state education department database.

The suit said the teen’s behavior deteriorated. The suit said he refuses to leave his home out of fear, quit using his words and increasingly punches himself in the head.

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Tornadoes reported as severe weather hits Kansas

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Tornadoes reported as severe weather hits Kansas


WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Severe storms brought hail and reports of tornadoes to Kansas on Wednesday night.

Here are the reports received so far:

  • Golf ball-size hail, 3 N Enterprise, Dickinson County
  • Tornado, north of Enterprise and east of Abilene
  • 2-inch hail, 5 NNE Nickerson, Rice County
  • Funnel, 3 WNW Woodbine, Dickinson County
  • Tornado, 4 NNW Herington, Dickinson County
  • Golf ball-size hail, 1 S Lyons, Rice County
  • Power outages in Durham, Tampa, Lincolnville, Lost Springs
  • Ping pong ball-size hail, 5 S Windom, McPherson County
  • 2-inch hail, 5 WSW Ellinwood, Barton County
  • 60 mph wind gust, 5 SSE Milford, Geary County

For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.





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Thousands remain without power after severe storms hit Kansas

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Thousands remain without power after severe storms hit Kansas


TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Severe storms left thousands of Kansas residents without electricity for more than 24 hours as crews work to restore power.

Topeka resident John Braun said his neighborhood has been without power for more than a day.

“It just went out, and you know, of course, we’ve got no air conditioning, and it’s humid, you know. Three sheets on the bed so you don’t sweat through the mattress. You know, couldn’t run a fan,” Braun said.

Braun said the area from 29th to 21st streets has no power.

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Gina Penzig with Evergy said crews from Kansas and Missouri are working to restore service.

“We had our local crews going to work as soon as they could safely do so to begin to restore power,” Penzig said.

Evergy had 25,000 customers without power about 36 hours ago and has restored service to 90% of those customers, Penzig said.

“We expect to have everybody back on late this evening, so about a day and a half into this storm getting everything done,” Penzig said.

Braun said residents are trying to stay positive while waiting for power to return.

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“We had a great time picking up; it was fun, a lot of fun, but around 2 o’clock, everybody is worn out about 8 hours of tree cutting. Just piling and stacking and then you have three or four beers of that, and you’re tired,” Braun said.

About 1,800 customers remain without power in Shawnee County and 500 in Riley County. Evergy expects power to be restored by late tonight.

About 8,200 customers in the Salina area remain without power, and it may take until Thursday night for electricity to be restored, according to Evergy.

Evergy’s power outage can be found here.

Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.

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Kansas boy discovers 15-foot marine reptile fossil from 85 million years ago during geology field trip

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Kansas boy discovers 15-foot marine reptile fossil from 85 million years ago during geology field trip


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A Kansas boy searching for fossils during a geology club field trip stumbled onto something far bigger than expected: the remains of a 15-foot-long marine reptile that swam an ancient sea 85 million years ago.

Corbin Bullard was just 11 years old when he spotted several large vertebrae protruding from rock at a quarry near his hometown of Clearwater, Kansas, during a September 2025 outing with the Sedgwick County 4-H Geology Club.

“I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that it was something big,” Bullard told FOX Local.

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Over the course of three additional excavation trips, Bullard and fellow club members carefully uncovered nearly an entire tylosaurus, a massive marine reptile that ruled the seas during the Cretaceous Period.

DINOSAUR FOSSILS UNEARTHED DURING PARKING LOT CONSTRUCTION AT NATIONAL PARK

Corbin Bullard discovered the fossil at a quarry near his hometown of Clearwater, Kansas, in September 2025. (Wendy Bullard)

The fossil measured more than 15 feet long and included everything from the animal’s enormous skull to most of its skeleton.

Corbin and his geology club uncovered a fossil of nearly an entire tylosaurus, a massive marine reptile from the Cretaceous Period. (Wendy Bullard)

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LIMPING DINOSAUR’S TWISTED PATH PUZZLES PALEONTOLOGISTS, 150 MILLION YEARS LATER: ‘VERY RARE’

The ancient predator lived roughly 82 million to 87 million years ago, according to researchers who dated the specimen to the Smoky Hill Chalk formation, a fossil-rich layer of rock that stretches across parts of Kansas.

In this photo, part of the tylosaurus fossil is seen. (Wendy Bullard)

The discovery emerged from a quarry where commercial crews routinely shave away layers of rock, exposing relics hidden for millions of years. Before Bullard’s find, club members had mostly uncovered shark teeth and fish fossils.

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Now 12 and preparing to enter seventh grade, Bullard plans to display the fossil’s skull at the Sedgwick County Fair in July.

“I hope [the judges] say that it looks really nice and that we put a lot of effort into it,” he said.



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