Represented by The Button Law Firm, parents sue Arka Montessori of Risinger after surveillance footage captures 4-year-old boy harmed and physical fights encouraged by teacher
FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fort Worth parents Heather and Richard Harris are suing Arka Montessori of Risinger, claiming surveillance cameras captured a teacher encouraging 4-year-old children to physically fight each other. The suit likens the incident at the daycare center to a "child fight club" in which their son was physically thrown to the ground like a "human ragdoll."
In April 2026, Heather Harris arrived at Arka Montessori to pick up her 4-year-old son and found him crying hysterically, uncontrollably, per the complaint. When the center told Harris her son got into a fight with another child, she demanded to view the surveillance footage from the classroom where the incident took place, per the suit. What Harris saw shocked her: a teacher encouraging a physical altercation between her son and another boy.
"Nothing prepared me for seeing my child aggressively handled and attacked by another child at a teacher's orders," says Harris. "My heart just shattered into pieces because I couldn't be there to protect my son from being harmed, all while he was being cared for by a daycare that I trusted."
Harris' lawsuit states that the boy was moved to a new classroom after his regular teacher left for the day. One of the children in the new classroom hit him on the back, causing a fight to break out. The children stopped fighting, and the teacher supervising the classroom called in a substitute teacher so that she could leave to use the restroom. Per the suit, the fight started again, and rather than calm the classroom, the substitute teacher grabbed Harris' son by the arm, shook him, and screamed in his face. While holding him by the arm, she swiped his leg out from under him, throwing the 4-year-old crashing down onto the hardwood floor, per the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges the substitute encouraged the other child, who happened to be her son, to hit and kick the boy. When the classroom's regular teacher returned to the room, she looked on without intervening. The boy was left with bruises, scratches, and post-traumatic headaches. He continues to struggle with anxiety and fear after his physical injuries healed, per the suit.
A state investigation into the incident at Arka Montessori found the daycare center violated multiple childcare safety laws. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission's Child-Car Licensing Division cited the center for using improper disciplinary methods and prohibited punishments, including grabbing, pulling, and yelling. It also cited the center for a caregiver's failure to intervene and protect a child while under her watch.
The lawsuit also states the incident involving the couple's son was not an isolated lapse in child safety at Arka Montessori. Since it opened in 2024, the school has been cited for 16 safety violations.
"No child should ever be treated this way by a daycare that promised to keep him safe," says Texas daycare injury lawyer Russell Button of The Button Law Firm, the firm representing the Harris family. "The video and the state's own findings show a daycare center that failed this little boy on the most basic level, and the warning signs were there long before he was hurt. Our goal with this lawsuit is to get answers for these parents and protect other children from this kind of harm."
The case is Heather Harris and Richard Harris, individually and as parents and next friends of U.H., a minor child vs. Arka Risinger Educators LLC d/b/a Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger, Cause No. 048-382076-26 in Tarrant County. A copy of the complaint can be found here.
About The Button Law Firm
The Button Law Firm (buttonlawfirm.com) is a Texas-based personal injury law firm dedicated to protecting children. The firm represents kids in daycare and child injury cases to help families achieve life-changing results and justice against bad daycare centers, schools, and companies that abuse children and neglect their safety. With offices in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm stands by families across the Lone Star State, working to hold negligent organizations accountable and make communities safer for every child.
SOURCE The Button Law Firm
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