Family alleging ‘fight club’ discipline at IPS School 87 agrees to dismiss lawsuit against district

Have a news tip for WFYI's education team? Share it here.

Indianapolis Public Schools and the mother of a former student have agreed to dismiss a lawsuit alleging systemic abuse against the student at George Washington Carver Montessori School 87.

The lawsuit, first filed last April, alleged that first-year teacher Julious Johnican facilitated a “fight club” style of discipline in which he encouraged and recorded physical abuse that the 7-year-old student with a disability — identified as O.D. — experienced from other students during the 2023-24 school year. Johnican resigned from the district in November 2023, after the lawsuit alleges the issues came to light.

News of the lawsuit prompted outrage from School 87 parents, who expressed shock and concern at a video referenced in the lawsuit that circulated in news reports. It showed one student on top of and hitting O.D. Meanwhile, a person recording the fight — identified in the lawsuit as Johnican — encourages the student to keep hitting him.

The federal lawsuit, which names the school board, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, Johnican, and other school staff, was dismissed earlier this month after the parties agreed to do so, court documents show. It’s unclear whether they agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court.

IPS did not comment on the dismissal of the case. Attorneys for O.D.’s mother, Corrie Horan, said in an email that they could not comment on the resolution in a particular case. An attorney for Johnican in the federal case also did not immediately return a request for comment.

O.D. was pulled from the school and subsequently homeschooled, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit prompted a flurry of responses from the district and school board, which agreed to create a special task force on mental health and school safety. The task force, led by community member Bwana Clements, recently selected its final member.

“Though the official focus of the task force is mental health and school culture, I do want to emphasize that the true mission behind the movement is to provide support for a community in times of need,” Clements, who runs a local consulting group, told the school board in an update at its meeting in February.

But the lawsuit also claimed that staff repeatedly dismissed or failed to respond to Horan’s concerns of bullying at the school — a claim echoed by School 87 parents, who later told the school board that administration had dismissed concerns about safety and staff morale for months.

Last April, Johnson said the district would have an external partner review its policies and procedures, and would clarify guidance for staff on follow-up communication to families regarding incidents in schools. She also told School 87 families in an email that the district would create a year-long focus group to help the school create a positive school climate.

That group, called the “Culture and Climate Committee,” includes parents, staff, administration, the Montessori coordinator, and the parent-teacher association, the district said in a statement.

Meetings are held monthly, with feedback in the form of surveys and town halls, per IPS.
“School administration takes feedback and makes changes to instructional/climate initiatives within the school,” the district said.

The district did not immediately respond to a question about the status of the school’s focus group.

In Marion County court, Johnican still faces a felony charge of neglect of a dependent. That case is ongoing.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.