FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth family has filed a $1 million lawsuit against a local daycare after surveillance video allegedly captured a substitute teacher encouraging 4-year-olds to fight and then throwing one child to the floor.
Heather and Richard Harris sued Arka Risinger Educators LLC, which operates Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger, in Tarrant County district court. The suit stems from an April 27, 2026, incident involving their son, identified in court papers as U.H.The family’s attorney, Russell Button of The Button Law Firm, said the footage looks like “a child fight club.”
“This kid was thrown around like a human rag doll by somebody that was supposed to protect him,” Button said.
What the video allegedly shows
According to the lawsuit and local reports, the boy was moved into a combined afternoon classroom around 4:30 p.m. as teachers left for the day. Another child — whose mother, Chynia Johnson, was working as a substitute that day — struck him in the back.
The suit claims Johnson then encouraged her son to continue the fight rather than stop it. Video described in court filings shows her grabbing the Harris boy by the arm, shaking him, screaming at him, and swiping his leg out from under him while holding his wrist, causing him to crash onto the hardwood floor.
Another teacher, Jacqueline De Luna, was present and did not intervene, the family alleges.
The child suffered bruising and scratches on his arms, headaches, and lasting anxiety that has made returning to daycare difficult, according to the complaint. Photos taken after pickup show marks on his arm.
State investigators later cited the facility.
State findings and prior problems
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Child Care Regulation Division cited Arka Montessori for multiple violations tied to the incident, including improper discipline, prohibited punishments such as grabbing and pulling, yelling at a child, and a caregiver’s failure to use good judgment by not stepping in.
Records cited in coverage of the case show the academy had accumulated numerous deficiencies involving health and safety since opening, though a later inspection recorded none.
Johnson is no longer employed at the daycare. No criminal charges have been reported.
Arka Montessori has not issued a detailed public response. Staff directed at least one local reporter to email the director.
Parents: trust broken
Heather Harris said she made an unannounced pickup that day because she sensed something was wrong. She found her son crying hysterically.“The trust that I put in this daycare, they failed us,” Richard Harris told local television.
The lawsuit accuses the center of negligence, gross negligence, and failing to properly hire, train, and supervise staff. The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages, with a jury to decide the final amount.
The case highlights a recurring parental fear: cameras that catch what staff later try to downplay. Facilities that care for the youngest and most vulnerable have been caught on video for years. This one, the Harris family says, crossed a line no parent should have to watch.
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