A Manhattan special education Teacher says she was violently assaulted by a student while six months pregnant — and then fired by school administrators who blamed her for the incident, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
According to the New York Post, Lauren Vitale, 31, who worked at Staten Island’s PS 84, alleges she was attacked in January by a kindergarten student with a documented history of violence.
The student had not been flagged to her in advance, the lawsuit claims.
According to court filings, the child spit in Vitale’s face and later kicked her in the stomach during the same school day.
Vitale said she immediately experienced bleeding, reduced fetal movement, and high blood pressure, prompting her to seek emergency care at a labor and delivery unit.
“I was in fear that I was going to lose my baby,” Vitale said, describing the aftermath of the incident. Her daughter is now 2 months old.
The lawsuit alleges that school administrators responded by blaming
Vitale for the assault instead of supporting her. She claims the principal criticized her reporting of the incident and later denied her work injury claim.
Vitale also alleges she was placed on a punitive Teacher Improvement Plan after the incident and accused of corporal punishment when she returned to work.
The filing outlines what she describes as a pattern of workplace hostility dating back to her hiring in 2023, when she says the principal asked whether she planned to become pregnant “anytime soon” and laughed.
In early 2024, Vitale filed a union complaint after another student with a violent history was assigned to her classroom.
She alleges that student bit her and struck her with a curtain rod. Following that complaint, she says she was warned she had “opened Pandora’s box.”
Vitale also claims that after she privately told a school staff member she was pregnant, the information was quickly relayed to the principal, who confronted her and intensified scrutiny of her classroom performance.
The lawsuit states that shortly after, she was placed under increased observation and disciplinary measures.
Following the January assault, Vitale says she was fired after filing a union grievance, just before becoming eligible for tenure.
When she returned to work after the injury, she alleges administrators reversed course and accused her of misconduct while also docking her pay.
Now out of work and caring for her newborn, Vitale says she wants to return to teaching.
“I want to work with children, I want to be a Teacher. I just want to be back where I belong,” she said. “I’m heartbroken by everything that’s happened.”