Federal Way Public Schools is under fire after the parents of an 8-year-old filed an anti-bully lawsuit last month.

The parents, who will not be named to protect the identity of the child, allege district officials were negligent in their response to numerous complaints that a young boy repeatedly bullied their son in the 2015-2016 school year. They say the bullying got so bad that, at one point, the suspected bully allegedly choked and pulled scissors on their son, who was 7 at the time.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 3 in King County Superior Court through attorney Yvonne Kinoshita Ward, describes several instances that caused the parents to file complaints, an appeal, and seek solutions.

Kassie Swenson, spokeswoman for Federal Way Public Schools, said student safety is the district’s No. 1 priority.

“As part of this commitment, we take concerns related to bullying, intimidation and harassment very seriously and treat each with the care and attention it deserves,” she said in an email. “While we cannot comment regarding the specific details of this case, we can share that reports of allegations like these are investigated thoroughly and actions are taken immediately to remedy the concern.”

According to the lawsuit, the bullying began in September 2015. It says the boy “was subjected to assaults, sexual harassment, and stalking by the minor… while at Green Gables Elementary School… [the alleged bully] repeatedly vandalized and destroyed [the boy’s] school work, pushed him, shoved him and harassed him.”

The parents alleged the boy was “obsessed” with their son and would physically rub against and assault him.

The harassment reportedly continued through fall and escalated in December 2015 when the child chased their son with scissors, something the parents say the district did not tell them about. Additionally, their son and his friend were purportedly choked.

In a Sept. 1 response to the plaintiffs’ complaint, Patricia Buchanan, an attorney for the school district, wrote that Federal Way Public Schools denies it failed to address misconduct by the student.

In fact, Buchanan denies all allegations of “wrongful conduct, acts, errors, and omissions” against the district’s board members, superintendent, principals, teachers, and other agents.

She further stated the district isn’t legally responsible for all student conduct and suggested in a later affirmative defense that it’s the parents who are responsible.

In January, the boy’s parents alleged the district again failed to notify them when their son was punched in the face and took no protective action. The district again denied that they failed to address the child’s behavioral issues.

The boy’s parents requested the alleged child bully be removed from their son’s class, and the district instead offered to switch their son’s classes. District officials confirmed this but said in their answer to the claims that the boy’s parents declined to move their son.

In February, the parents filed an official complaint form for harassment, intimidation or bullying. The Green Gables principal responded by informing the family that the district “increased adult supervision” on the child. But the family of the boy alleged the increased supervision didn’t last long, citing an instance where the bully jumped on their son’s back.

The parents filed an appeal, after which Mark Davidson, the district’s executive director of human resources, investigated their claims and confirmed their son was being targeted by the bully.

According to the parents, however, the harassment and assaults continued. They said their son was “constantly looking for escape routes” if his bully found him. Throughout the year, despite adult supervision, it’s alleged the bully had to be dragged from a talent show assembly after telling others he had “weapons, including guns, buried or hidden around the school” and wanted to “blow up the school” and torture other children.

In March, a group of parents spent their morning outside Green Gables protesting the bully’s violence. They also went to the school board to testify their concerns.

The parents of the boy allege the district and staff told their son and his classmates to “understand” the other boy’s behavior, to “tolerate” it, and to “avoid” his “alleged triggers.”

“Placing the burden on such young children to enable and tolerate abusive conduct by their tormentors is again unfathomable and violates the defendants’ duties to protect the children placed in their care,” Ward, the parents’ attorney, wrote in the lawsuit.

While the district admits the child’s special needs were “addressed to a degree” with his classmates, they denied all other allegations.

Buchanan wrote that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim for which “relief may be granted,” saying they failed to avoid or minimize the injuries described in the suit. Additionally, Buchanan wrote the district is investigating whether the victim’s injuries or damages were caused by his own actions and said that, if damages did occur, those damages were outside their control.

Ultimately, the parents said they want damages for their son’s emotional distress, anxiety, mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and loss of education.

“Quite disturbingly, he has suffered these harms at the hands of the very people he was taught to trust – grownups at the school charged with his safety and care,” the lawsuit states. “And, as a result of placing responsibility for [the bully’s] violence on his victims, [the victim] feels guilt and exhibits signs of being in an abusive relationship. This may be the greatest harm of all.”

The trial is scheduled to begin July 31, 2017.