Three former Mandeville school aides accused of striking disabled student under their supervision

MANDEVILLE, La. (WVUE) - Three former St. Tammany Parish Public Schools employees face charges for allegedly striking and injuring a Mandeville student with disabilities. The boy’s parents say they’re furious they had to file a lawsuit to get the full details about what they believe happened to their son.

When 13-year-old Zander Ferris steps off the school bus, it’s straight into the arms of his parents. They say Zander was diagnosed with blindness as a baby. Around the age of 6, came another diagnosis of autism.

At Gayle Sloan Middle School in Mandeville, he’s assisted by his teacher and other aides, called paraprofessionals -- people trained to help children with disabilities in the classroom.

But on Jan. 30, 2023 -- when Zander was 11 -- three of those paraprofessionals allegedly hurt him.

Zander’s parents Justin and Luda, along with their attorney, explained what their lawsuit says happened that day.

Attorney Chris Edmunds said, “For reasons that I really don’t understand, one of the paraprofessionals just started pushing him out of the classroom, and they push him out of the classroom and into the hallway.

“He’s swinging the walking cane around and it accidentally makes contact with the leg of one of the paraprofessionals. And rather than step back and just say, ‘Oh Zander, watch what you’re doing with the walking cane,’ she comes over and kicks him in the leg. And another one comes over and takes his walking cane away.”

Justin Ferris said, “At that point, one of them grabs his arm and pulls him down the hallway, and immediately he pulls back. They pull him some distance down the hallway and he’s just pulling, pulling back. And at some point he’s pulling forward.

“When he pulls forward, she has a walkie talkie in her left hand. And she reaches up and hits him in the side of the face with it.”

Edmunds said the conflict didn’t end there.

“They take him to lunch, and maybe 5-10 minutes later, a third paraprofessional -- a third person at this point -- is sitting him down. And after he’s seated, she pushes his head into the cafeteria table.”

Another school employee saw some of the alleged abuse and reported it to Principal Sherri Barton. Barton called Zander’s parents.

“She said there was some sort of altercation with him and a para,” Luda Ferris said. “That she accidentally hit him on his shin.”

“It was kind of explained to us it was a very minor incident,” Justin Ferris said.

The parents say Barton offered to let them see the surveillance video but they declined, thinking it was one minor incident. Meanwhile, Barton filed a police report saying something very different.

The report says, “Tiffany Bourgeois kicked a special-needs student during an altercation.”

Edmunds said, “Sherri Barton admitted under oath in a deposition that she never said anything to Zander’s parents about contacting the police.”

A few weeks later, Zander’s parents say they started getting phone calls from other parents and teachers.

“It wasn’t until someone else told them later -- a month later or something -- ‘Did you know that all three of the paraprofessionals that were working in your son’s classroom all resigned on the same day?‘” Edmunds said. “And that’s what got Justin and Luda very concerned and saying, ‘What happened? What happened?”

That’s when Zander’s parents went back to the principal, seeking more details. Receiving few, they said they asked to see the surveillance video. But it was two months after the incident, and they were told the video had been deleted.

“Which was kind of shocking,” Justin Ferris said. “I was very clear this involved a special-needs child who couldn’t see.”

Zander’s parents filed a civil lawsuit against the St. Tammany Parish School Board, accusing school administrators of not being honest about what happened and trying to cover it up.

During the discovery phase of their lawsuit, they learned the video did exist. A federal judge forced the school board to show it to them.

“It’s terrible,” Luda Ferris said. “It’s just one attack after another. And poor Zander, he couldn’t even protect himself, couldn’t say anything.”

The parents also filed a criminal complaint with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“I just want accountability and responsibility,” Justin Ferris said.

The sheriff’s office issued criminal summonses for the three paraprofessionals -- Tiffany Bourgeois, Leslie Cookmeyer and Angela Rayer.

Justin Ferris said, “I mean, as a dad, what do you think my instincts were? Somebody is attacking my child. Not just my child, my first-born. My child who needs protecting more than anybody, because he can’t see, he can’t speak to defend himself, he can’t do anything.”

District Attorney Collin Sims’ office told Fox 8 it is moving forward with charges of simple battery of a person with infirmities.

Roy Burns, an attorney representing Cookmeyer and Bourgeois, says his clients will plead not guilty, asserting they acted in self-defense against a child who represented a threat to both students and staff.

Burns says Zander Ferris is a violent child, who had been belligerent and aggressive earlier that day. He says Bourgeois and Cookmeyer repeatedly complained to the principal about his behavior and that they weren’t receiving training on how to handle him. Burns insists his clients retired because the school system and principal pressured them because of the alleged abuse.

Bourgeois told Fox 8 she would never intentionally hurt a child. She said she didn’t kick Zander, but lightly touched his pant leg with her foot to prevent him from kicking or tripping her.

Burns says Cookmeyer, who is accused of pushing Zander’s face into a cafeteria table, only put her hands on his to get him to sit down and prevent him from headbutting her, as Burns claims Zander was prone to do.

Rayer, the third paraprofessional involved, declined to comment when contacted by Fox 8.

Zander’s parents say what they want is simple.

“Be more transparent. If accidents happen, accidents happen. But don’t cover it up,” Justin Ferris said.

And they want their son, who can’t speak up for himself, to be safe.

Barton no longer works at Gayle Sloan Middle School. A spokesperson for the school district would not say if she retired, resigned or was fired. The spokesperson also said the school district and Superintendent Frank Jabbia would not comment because of the ongoing litigation.

The three former paraprofessionals are set to appear in court Wednesday (April 9).

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