A lawsuit claims that a student with disabilities suffered unnecessary injury after being restrained by a school resource officer, raising questions about the treatment of students with special needs in public schools. The complaint was filed by Rayvon J. Ferguson in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on March 10, 2026, naming Cy-Fair Independent School District and School Resource Officer Jesse Arturo Martinez as defendants.
According to the filing, Ferguson was a student receiving special education services at Cypress Springs High School within the Cy-Fair Independent School District. The complaint states that he qualified for these services due to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and an intellectual disability with related behavioral concerns. Ferguson’s legal team argues that the district had a duty under federal law to provide him with reasonable accommodations and ensure his safety at school.
The lawsuit describes an incident from October 2023 when Ferguson, then in ninth grade, entered a classroom to retrieve a phone charger he had lent another student. After being asked to leave by a teacher—who reportedly called Officer Martinez instead of following protocol to contact an assistant principal—Ferguson attempted to walk away calmly. The complaint alleges that Officer Martinez intervened aggressively despite knowing about Ferguson’s disabilities.
The document details that Officer Martinez “body slammed him on the concrete floor,” resulting in injuries including a busted lip and bleeding finger. Despite Ferguson’s complaints of arm pain, the officer allegedly continued applying force and threatened use of a taser unless Ferguson complied with commands. The filing further claims that Martinez mocked Ferguson, threatened jail time, denied him access to call his mother while injured, and ultimately took him to jail where he received no immediate medical attention.
Upon release from custody, Ferguson was taken to an emergency room where it was discovered his arm was broken; he required weeks in a cast. The complaint asserts that this experience caused both physical pain and emotional trauma for Ferguson, who later left school due to low motivation stemming from these events. According to the suit, “No reasonable police officer would have acted the way School Resource Officer Martinez did.”
The legal arguments center on alleged violations of several laws: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for failure to accommodate disabilities; Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act for discrimination based on disability; as well as constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment (protection against unreasonable seizure), Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection), and Texas state constitutional provisions regarding education.
The plaintiff contends that “the School District failed to provide him a safe and non-hostile educational environment” and did not address his unique needs after the incident. Claims are also made against Officer Martinez individually for using excessive force in violation of constitutional protections regarding bodily integrity.
Ferguson seeks compensatory damages including nominal damages, consequential damages such as loss of educational opportunities, past and future medical expenses, mental anguish, physical impairment, loss of earning capacity, out-of-pocket expenses incurred by his family, as well as punitive damages for alleged civil rights violations. He also requests attorney fees under federal statutes covering civil rights litigation.
The attorneys representing Rayvon J. Ferguson are Martin J. Cirkiel of Cirkiel Law Group P.C., Austin, Texas; and Willie D. Powells II of Law Offices Of Willie D. Powells II in Houston. The case is identified as C.A. 4:26-cv-1914.
Source: 426cv01914_Rayvon_J_Ferguson_v_CY-Fair_Complaint_Southern_District_of_Texas.pdf
