{"id":1617,"date":"2026-06-03T13:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1617"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:09:27","slug":"deer-valley-educators-allege-mistreatment-of-disabled-hispanic-students-retaliation-after-reporting-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1617","title":{"rendered":"Deer Valley educators allege mistreatment of disabled Hispanic students, retaliation after reporting concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Three longtime special education educators are accusing the Deer Valley Unified School District of retaliating against them after they reported what they describe as repeated mistreatment of two severely disabled Hispanic students at Mountain Ridge High School.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1615\">Phoenix parents sued over allegations of providing alcohol to minors at \u2018Senior Ditch Day\u2019 party<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The allegations, detailed in a legal claim seeking financial compensation from the district, come as Deer Valley Unified faces scrutiny following a separate controversy involving a school board member who made a Nazi salute at the conclusion of a board meeting last month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The educators\u2014Alicia Quintero, Annie Hughes and Renee Rios\u2014said they were effectively forced out of their positions after raising concerns about student abuse and civil rights violations involving two former colleagues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been doing special education for a long time, and for this to happen, I\u2019ve never had anything like this happen in my career,\u201d Quintero said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hughes added: \u201cWhen it came down to doing what was right for students, no one was there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>According to the claim, the educators reported incidents involving two Hispanic students with significant disabilities who they said were treated differently from their white peers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In interviews with 12News, Quintero and Hughes said communication devices and lunches were taken away from the two Hispanic students, and one student was made to sit outside by himself for several hours on March 12. Weather reports show it was unreasonably warm, hitting a high of 90 degrees that day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cSix were white students, and then the two Hispanic students, and the level of treatment, and the way these two Hispanic students were treated versus the white students were astronomical on many occasions,\u201d Hughes said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>One of the students&#8217; mothers, Maria Lopez, recently shared a photo on social media that she said was taken on March 12, showing her son outside at Mountain Ridge High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Lopez told 12News that her son, who has autism and is nonverbal, was deprived of water and access to a restroom for several hours.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>As a result of the incident, Lopez said she withdrew her son from the district and is pursuing an Empowerment Scholarship Account, or ESA, so he can attend a private school.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The educators contend the district has failed to adequately address allegations of discrimination and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1613\">2 homes destroyed in Tempe fire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cAs long as the district continues to hide discriminatory acts, that it opens the door for board members and other staff members to continue that as well,\u201d Quintero said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The allegations emerge amid broader concerns about the district&#8217;s culture following the recent actions of school board member Kimberly Fisher, who made a Nazi salute during a public board meeting. The gesture drew criticism and calls for accountability.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In a statement to 12News, Deer Valley Unified Superintendent Curtis Finch said the district is committed to student safety and inclusion.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cAs a school district serving more than 30,000 students, Deer Valley Unified School District is committed to fostering safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments across all schools and programs,\u201d Finch said. \u201cThe investigation concerning students at Mountain Ridge High School remains ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The district also said it will cooperate with all relevant agencies involved in reviewing the allegations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><em><strong>&gt;&gt; Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><u><strong>Watch the 12News Streaming App for free <\/strong><\/u>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere, thanks to the 12News streaming app! \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The free 12News streaming app from 12News lets users stream live events \u2014 including daily newscasts like &#8220;Today in AZ&#8221; and &#8220;12 News&#8221; and our daily lifestyle program, &#8220;Arizona Midday&#8221;\u2014on\u00a0Roku and\u00a0Amazon Fire TV. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>12News streaming showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Roku:\u00a0Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for &#8220;12 News KPNX.&#8221; \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Amazon Fire TV: Search for &#8220;12 News KPNX&#8221; to\u00a0find the free 12News streaming app to add to your account, or have the 12News streaming app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1611\">Don Bolles\u2019 legacy honored 50 years after Phoenix car bombing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Three longtime special education educators are accusing the Deer Valley Unified School District of retaliating against them after they reported what they describe as repeated mistreatment of two severely disabled Hispanic students at Mountain Ridge High School. Read more Phoenix parents sued over allegations of providing alcohol to minors at \u2018Senior Ditch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-impact"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Deer Valley educators allege mistreatment of disabled Hispanic students, retaliation after reporting concerns - Scottsdale Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1617\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deer Valley educators allege mistreatment of disabled Hispanic students, retaliation after reporting concerns - Scottsdale Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Three longtime special education educators are accusing the Deer Valley Unified School District of retaliating against them after they reported what they describe as repeated mistreatment of two severely disabled Hispanic students at Mountain Ridge High School. 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