Family Settles Lawsuit Over School Elopement
A nonverbal autistic girl who left a Charleston elementary school unnoticed has been returned safely, and her family has reached a confidential settlement.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Special Education
The family of a nonverbal autistic girl has reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court over an incident at Mary C. Snow Elementary School. The child left the school unnoticed and was found alone near the Kanawha River by a Charleston city employee, who called emergency services.
Why it matters
The case centers on whether school staff adequately monitored a student with a known history of leaving supervised areas and whether safety accommodations were written into her individualized education program. It highlights the responsibilities schools carry when supervising students with disabilities who may wander.
The lawsuit, filed in Kanawha Circuit Court under case number 25-C-1092, alleges disability discrimination under the West Virginia Human Rights Act, negligence, and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. The family reached a confidential settlement, and the monetary value of that settlement has not been disclosed.
The players
Mary C. Snow Elementary School
A public elementary school in Charleston, West Virginia, where the elopement incident took place and which is named in the lawsuit.
Kanawha Circuit Court
The trial court in Kanawha County, West Virginia, where the family's lawsuit was filed.
The details
The child was in an art classroom under the supervision of an unnamed employee when she left unnoticed, exiting the building and passing beyond a fence surrounding the school. She crossed a heavily traveled intersection before reaching the riverbank, where a city employee found her alone and called emergency services.
Timeline
September 3, 2025: The child left Mary C. Snow Elementary School unnoticed.
A few weeks after September 3, 2025: The family filed the lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court.
November 5, 2026: The settlement was reported by the West Virginia Record.
Legal Context
The lawsuit relies on the West Virginia Human Rights Act, which prohibits disability discrimination, to frame the school's alleged failure to accommodate a nonverbal autistic student as a civil rights matter. Families of students with disabilities increasingly use such state statutes alongside negligence claims when schools fail to implement safety measures in individualized education programs.
Parents of students with autism or other disabilities who are prone to wandering may want to ask schools about elopement-prevention plans and how those accommodations are written into an individualized education program. Confirming that supervision and building-security procedures are documented can help families prepare before a problem arises.
The takeaway
Written accommodations matter as much as verbal assurances, and families who document safety concerns in an individualized education program give themselves a clearer record if a child's safety is later compromised. Schools and parents share the responsibility of making supervision plans concrete and followed.
Further reading
For more on how schools support students with disabilities, see Special Education coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Legal Newsline.
