A Fort Worth daycare is facing a $1 million lawsuit after a family accused a substitute teacher of encouraging young children to fight and then physically throwing their 4-year-old son to the floor, according to a FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth report by Peyton Yager.
Yager said the boy’s mother became alarmed when she arrived to pick him up and found him crying hysterically with visible injuries. Staff initially told her that the child and another boy had simply gotten into a fight and that teachers had stepped in to separate them.
The mother demanded to see surveillance footage, and the family’s attorney, Russell Button, says the video told a very different story.
Family Says Video Shows Teacher Encouraging The Fight
Button described the scene in unusually strong terms, saying the daycare had effectively allowed a “child fight club” to unfold inside the classroom.
According to the lawsuit discussed by Yager, the 4-year-old was in a combined afternoon classroom when another child approached him and struck him, leading to a brief fight.
A substitute teacher, identified in the lawsuit as Chynia Johnson, later entered the room.
The other boy involved was allegedly her own son.
Button told FOX 4 that Johnson did not simply fail to stop the fight, but instead encouraged her son to continue confronting the 4-year-old.
“This Arka teacher is holding down our child that is four years old and encouraging her own son to come and hit him,” Button said.
The lawsuit claims the boy was trying to defend himself while the adult employee escalated the confrontation.
Lawsuit Alleges Child Was Thrown To The Floor
Yager reported that surveillance footage showed the employee grabbing the 4-year-old by the arm during the incident.
Button said she eventually swept the child’s leg and sent him crashing onto the hardwood floor.
He described the child as being tossed “like a human ragdoll.”
The lawsuit also alleges that another teacher, Jacqueline De Luna, returned to the room and witnessed part of the incident without stepping in to stop it.
Photos included in the case showed scratches and bruising on the boy’s arm, according to Yager.
The family says he also suffered headaches and lasting emotional anxiety after the incident.
That is what makes the allegations more serious than a dispute over ordinary daycare discipline. The lawsuit is not simply accusing staff of mishandling a scuffle between children; it alleges an adult caregiver actively participated in and encouraged physical violence involving preschool-aged children.
Mother Says Staff Initially Gave A Different Story
When the boy’s mother arrived, Yager said she was told that two children had gotten into a fight and that staff had separated them.
The family says that explanation unraveled once the surveillance footage was reviewed.
Button argued that the video was crucial because without it, the parents may never have learned what they say actually happened.
“Thankfully we do have that video footage that brought this instance to light,” he told FOX 4.
He added that the family now wants to know whether other incidents may have occurred inside the facility without parents realizing it.
The lawsuit alleges that the daycare violated the family’s trust by turning what was supposed to be a safe environment into something dangerous.
“Other parents need to know about this,” Button said. “The daycare needs to be held accountable.”
State Cited The Daycare After The Incident
Yager reported that Texas regulators cited Arka Montessori Academy multiple times in connection with the incident.
The findings included concerns about prohibited disciplinary methods such as grabbing, pulling, yelling and physical restraint.
The state also noted that the caregiver involved had a pattern of yelling at children when frustrated.
According to the report, that employee is no longer working at the daycare.
No criminal charges had been filed at the time of Yager’s report.
The employee’s face was blurred in the video aired by FOX 4 for that reason.
Facility Had Prior Safety Citations
The lawsuit also points to a broader history of problems at the daycare.
Yager reported that Arka Montessori Academy had accumulated 16 state citations since opening in 2024.
Those violations allegedly included children being left outside unattended and children being left alone inside classrooms.
That history is likely to become an important part of the civil case because the family is arguing that the April incident was not an isolated failure in an otherwise problem-free facility.
Instead, their attorney is portraying it as part of a larger pattern involving supervision and safety.
It is one thing for a daycare to have an unexpected incident between children.
It is far more concerning when the allegations involve both a caregiver’s direct actions and a record of previous regulatory problems.
Family Is Seeking More Than $1 Million
Heather and Richard Harris filed the lawsuit in Tarrant County District Court against the company operating Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger.
The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages, according to Yager’s report.
Their claims include negligence, gross negligence and premises liability.
Button said the family believes the daycare failed to protect their son while he was under its supervision.
The lawsuit also alleges that the boy continues to deal with anxiety that has made returning to daycare difficult.
For a 4-year-old, that kind of emotional fallout can be difficult to measure in the same way as a visible bruise, but it may last much longer.
Daycare Remains Open
Yager reported that Arka Montessori Academy remained open and operating after the lawsuit was filed.
Afternoon pickup appeared routine when FOX 4 visited the facility.
The station reached out to the daycare for comment but did not receive a response before the report aired.
That leaves the family’s allegations, surveillance footage and state findings as the main public account of what happened so far.
The civil case will likely determine how much responsibility the daycare ultimately bears and whether the family’s broader claims about supervision and safety are supported in court.
For now, the most troubling part of the case is also the simplest: parents left a 4-year-old in the care of adults they expected to protect him, and the family says the video instead shows one of those adults helping turn a children’s disagreement into something much more serious.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
