NC special-ed teacher whose actions led to $450,000 lawsuit settlement has resigned
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A Durham special education teacher who had been accused in a lawsuit of illegally restraining and secluding students in Wake County — resulting in a $450,000 settlement being paid to a family — has resigned.
Marcus Campbell resigned Tuesday from his position as a teacher at Northern High School, according to a Durham Public Schools spokesman. Campbell had been suspended with pay since last week after news stories came out that the Wake County school system had settled a lawsuit with a family who accused Campbell of mistreating students when he taught at Southeast Raleigh High School.
Campbell could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday. Campbell is a former professional basketball player who played in the U.S. and overseas, before becoming a teacher.
The family of Shao-Ku Liu, 19, a student at Southeast Raleigh High, filed a lawsuit accusing Campbell of physically injuring special education students, including their son. They also accused him of improperly isolating students in a storage room during the 2018-19 school year.
‘Unacceptable practices’
After the settlement was announced last week, Karen Hamilton, Wake’s assistant superintendent for special education services, sent a letter to families of special-education students who are educated in self-contained classrooms.
“The settlement involved unacceptable practices of one teacher regarding seclusion and restraint,” Hamilton said in the letter.
Hamilton said that district staff immediately responded when they became aware of the situation and began to examine other regional classrooms “for safe and compliant practices.” She encouraged families who have concerns to contact Special Education Services.
“Disrespectful and unsafe treatment of any student is simply unacceptable,” Hamilton said.
Campbell left Southeast Raleigh High and started at Northern High in August. Durham school officials say they were unaware of the allegations when Campbell was hired, prompting them to launch an investigation after the settlement was announced.
Liu’s family had called it ‘”particularly disturbing” that he was still teaching.
“S.L.’s parents want the parents of children with disabilities — and other concerned members of the public — to know this happened to their child and the perpetrators are still working in public school systems of North Carolina,” Stacey Gahagan, the family’s attorney, said in a statement last week.
