Simi Valley Parents Allege Abuse of Disabled Student at Vista Fundamental School

Allegations of Student Abuse Continue At Simi Valley Unified School District Under The Leadership of Hani Yousseff.

Only a couple of years after Simi Valley Unified School District faced a proposed $6.8 million settlement after shocking cases of special education abuse emerged in our community, the District Simply has not learned its lesson. In November of 2024, allegations of emotional abuse by a teacher at Simi Valley Unified School District’s Vista Fundamental school emerged. In response to the parents’ complaint of student abuse, Simi Valley Unified has added insult to injury and allegedly engaged in harassment of the students who reported the concern to senior officials at Simi Valley Unified School District.

The complaint of abuse at Simi Valley’s Vista Fundamental School mirrors events that took place at another SVUSD school, Garden Grove Elementary. At Garden Grove Elementary, a civil complaint reveals that a now-former teacher, Christina Tonkin, allegedly abused special education students with Down syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and other developmental disabilities between 2015 and 2018. Parents and residents remain stunned by these serious allegations.

The case started when four children's guardians filed complaints, but quickly grew to include 11 families. Reports suggest the number of victims could reach 50 to 80. Students at both Sycamore Elementary and Garden Grove Elementary schools suffered this abuse. The civil rights complaint reveals an even more troubling detail - several school officials, including Assistant Principal Sean Goldman, tried to hide the reported abuse from district authorities. The documented abuse targeted children as young as 5, most unable to speak about their mistreatment. Students endured being grabbed, dragged across floors, placed in choke holds, and had their lunches thrown away.

Our investigation shows that Tonkin worked at Simi Valley Unified since 2008 before the district removed her in August 2018. This timeline raises critical questions about how long the abuse and neglect continued without detection or reporting.

Parents Allege Abuse of Disabled Student at Vista Fundamental

New allegations of abuse of disabled students and Simi Valley USD have emerged at Vista Fundamental School. These claims have expanded concerns about the systematic mistreatment of disabled students throughout the district. Parents of a disabled student reported emotional abuse of their child, which adds to the growing list of cases against Simi Valley Unified School District.

Vista Fundamental School Parent Reports Emotional Student Abuse by Teacher Incident reported by parents of non-verbal student

Disturbing patterns at Vista Fundamental echo those previously documented at Garden Grove Elementary. Rachel Cajucom's story stands out as a telling example. She found her non-verbal daughter coming home from school with unexplained injuries—a bruise on one side of her face and a cut under her eye on the other side. The child's bus driver confirmed these injuries weren't present before school. The school failed to notify the parent about any incident [1].

"I didn't let my child go back to school the next day," Cajucom stated after finding the injuries. Both a teacher's aide and the school principal gave conflicting explanations about how the injuries occurred [1].

Vista Fundamental School Teacher goes on medical leave weeks after allegations

The accused teacher at Vista Fundamental School took medical leave shortly after the serious allegations surfaced regarding her conduct. For unclear reasons, this unexpected medical leave prevented the Simi Valley Police Department from questioning her as part of a crucial criminal inquiry into the matter. According to Detective Chris Lam, he was not able to interview the teacher at the center of the student abuse allegations due to the teacher being on medical leave, which has raised concerns about the investigation's progress. In a related case, the Garden Grove abuse incident, Police Chief Steven Shorts conducted two separate investigations into the claims of student abuse, yet both investigations resulted in no findings. This situation raises questions about the thoroughness and effectiveness of the investigation, especially in light of the substantial $ 6.8 million reported settlement that has come to light, which suggests that significant issues may have been overlooked.

District Response Raises Concerns

The district's response has left parents frustrated. Attorney Ron Bamieh, who represented the Garden Grove families alleging the district allowed the abuse of their children, stated, "The story here is the cover-up. An abusive teacher is an awful thing. The hiding of it exposed other children to horrible abuse. People in the SVUSD need to be held accountable" [2].

Bamieh is referring to Simi Valley Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Sean Goldman. Numerous allegations suggest that Goldman has played a key role in covering up the abuse of students with disabilities at the district. Goldman and his wife, Jennifer, who is the principal at Mountain View Elementary in Simi Valley, appear to have a child with special needs. It is horrifying that an Assistant Superintendent like Sean Goldman, who has a special needs child, would allow other vulnerable children to be subjected to the alleged abuse at Simi Valley Unified School District. Parents report that Goldman consistently dismissed or minimized reports of special education abuse. His actions created an environment where staff feared reporting misconduct. Even more disturbing is that if Goldman’s wife is aware that her husband is intentionally covering up the abuse of students at SVUSD, she is obligated as a mandatory reporter, under the provisions of her employment, to report any cover-up of emotional or physical student abuse of which she may have knowledge. This pattern allowed abusive practices to continue for years before formal action took place.

Sean Goldman Accused of Ignoring Warnings and Enabling Abuse

The role of district administrators in handling abuse allegations faces intense scrutiny. Assistant Superintendent Sean Goldman stands at the center of this controversy. Court documents show that the administration dismissed complaints about special education abuse despite growing evidence and concerns from parents.

Parents claim Goldman failed to act on repeated complaints

Families of disabled students say Goldman ignored warnings about mistreatment in special education classrooms. The civil complaint states that parents and staff alerted Simi Valley Unified School District about these issues dating back to at least 2008 [2]. The alleged abuse continued for years despite these early warnings.

"The story here is the cover-up," said attorney Ron Bamieh, who represents affected families of Garden Grove Students who allegedly were physically abused. "An abusive teacher is an awful thing. The hiding of it exposed other children to horrible abuse. People in the SVUSD need to be held accountable" [2].

Goldman defended these disciplinary actions. He said, "The education code allows for a student to be physically restrained when a student's behavior is a danger to themselves or others" [3]. Parents argue that this explanation justified inappropriate physical contact that left bruises on vulnerable children.

California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 11165.3

However the California Penal Code section 11165.3 defines abuse as “the willful harming or injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of a child,” means a situation in which any person willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon, unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered.

While the Simi Valley Police Department and its Chief, Steven Shorts, may be giving Sean Goldman and the Simi Valley Unified School District Superintendent a “Good ‘ol Boy” pass regarding the alleged abuse of Simi Valley students, the question remains whether other law enforcement agencies without ties to the community will be so lenient. The reality is that the abundance of allegations of physical and emotional abuse in Simi Valley schools, coupled with increased media coverage, may attract greater interest from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and federal investigators. If the Attorney General or the DOJ gets involved in investigating the allegations of a culture of emotional and physical abuse, it could realistically lead to indictments of both teachers and students if non-Simi Valley investigators find wrongdoing by district personnel.

The Bigger Picture

One of the bigger picture issues that has arisen in recent discussions is how many more allegations of Student Abuse at Simi Valley Unified, along with the resulting investigations and civil suits, can be tolerated before these serious allegations of misconduct by both administrators and teachers begin to significantly impact the redevelopment efforts of the City of Simi Valley. This concern is particularly pressing, as Simi Valley is currently considering a significant residential development that could alter the community's landscape. The bottom line is that families with school-age children may be deterred from moving into areas where they perceive the schools as unsafe or where there is a cloud of suspicion hanging over the educational institutions. Simi Valley Unified is a tiny school district, and it appears that it potentially has a disproportionate number of allegations of physical and emotional student abuse compared to larger districts. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the Superior Court of California, County of Ventura, has several cases related to misconduct at the Simi Valley Unified School District, which adds to the gravity of the situation and raises concerns among parents and community members alike.

Educational institutions must never permit teachers or administrators to subject students to any form of abuse, whether it be physical, emotional, or psychological, nor should such incidents be concealed under any circumstances, regardless of the potential repercussions. Claims that Superintendent Hani Youssef and Assistant Superintendent Sean Goldman of Simi Valley Unified have fostered an environment where physical and emotional mistreatment has become standard practice may warrant an external review and thorough examination to establish their validity and ensure the safety and well-being of all students involved.