An Iowa school faces backlash after firing a long term employee.
An Iowa school faces backlash after firing a long term employee. Siouxland Christian School terminated building and grounds director Chris Hecht on January 6, 2023, after receiving complaints regarding the school’s mistreatment and discrimination against his young daughter.
According to Hecht, the alleged incident occurred on October 19, 2022, when his then ten-year-old daughter failed to comply with her teacher’s requests to stop drawing on her arms. Hecht’s daughter has difficulty sitting still for extended periods of time, as a result of both diagnosed Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and hearing loss that exacerbates her condition. When the young girl refused her teacher’s commands, dean of students Sarah Boesch was called to the classroom for disciplinary action.
Boesch allegedly began this confrontation by poking Hecht’s daughter “aggressively.” After the girl requested that Boesch cease physical contact, she was lifted out of her desk chair and carried to a secluded room. According to the lawsuit, the young student was dropped on the ground – so violently that she vomited on herself.
Chris Hecht was not notified of the incident, although he was present at the school that day. Additionally, his daughter requested his presence and was refused. After the school day, Hecht and his wife noticed extensive bruises on their daughter’s back. They called school superintendent Lindsay Laurich, who, according to the suit, “told them she was aware of what had happened and expressed remorse.”
The following day, the girl’s parents brought her in for an evaluation at a local urgent care. Following the guidance of the doctor, they reported the incident as potential child abuse. Five days later, Hecht and his wife met with Laurich and special education coordinator, Emily Renken. As they watched security footage of their daughter being dragged out of the classroom, Laurich “seemed horrified,” even though she claimed that the physical force was warranted. When contacted by police, the school stated that there was no video evidence of the incident.
After the initial reports, though, Hecht and his daughter both expressed concerns regarding their treatment by teachers, staff, and other students. The young girl fell behind in her school work, and Hecht felt a sense of “unprecedented scrutiny” and backlash. Still, Laurich told the girl and her father to simply “let it go” in a December 12 meeting.
Just two days later, Laurich and school counselor Nick Brown placed Chris Hecht on administrative leave. They claimed to have received multiple “allegations of inappropriate conduct, unwanted touching and inappropriate comments” by Hecht.
During the investigation into the allegations, Hecht and his family were banned from school grounds. Acting in his children’s best interests, heand his wife temporarily enrolled their three children in another school.
On January 6, Hecht was fired from Siouxland Christian School. In the termination letter, the school stated that he had violated his contract by enrolling his children in another school. A week later, he received another letter from the school saying that an investigation found evidence of his alleged fireable offenses. However, Hecht claims he was never even interviewed by the school regarding these allegations.
Chris Hecht’s young daughter qualifies as disabled under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, and he believes she was discriminated against. Along with punitive damages, Hect seeks compensation “for lost wages and employment benefits, emotional distress, fear, humiliation, stress and loss of enjoyment of life.”
Authors: Alexis Kabat and Andy Goldwasser
