Family of drowned Whiteland student files federal lawsuit against school district
The family of the 15-year-old student who drowned last year during a physical education class at Whiteland Community High School has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district, alleging the district didn’t do enough to protect the student who had a recorded disability.
Alaina Dildine was pronounced dead on May 16, 2023 after being pulled from the pool at Whiteland Community High School. The high school freshman was underwater for more than 50 minutes before her body was found, according to a police investigation.
Her cause of death was ruled to be drowning following a seizure. She had a history of epilepsy, a seizure disorder.
Alaina's parents, Kyle and Victoria Dildine, filed the federal lawsuit with the Southern District of Indiana on Wednesday. The suit alleges the district, one PE teacher and an instructional assistant at the high school violated Alaina’s Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to accommodate her disability, leading to her death.
Kyle and Victoria Dildine said in a statement provided by their lawyer that they know this lawsuit won’t bring back their daughter, but they want to hold those responsible for Alaina’s safety accountable.
“Second, we want to bring attention to the importance of school districts across the country putting in place rules and policies to protect students in school pools, especially those most at risk like our daughter,” the statement read. “If this tragedy could happen in a large school district like Clark-Pleasant, it could happen anywhere.”
The lawsuit alleges that there was no designated lifeguard on duty on the day that Dildine drowned and that the two PE instructors observing students were instructing students and could not properly survey the 24 students swimming.
Earlier in the spring semester, Alaina experienced frequent seizures and her mother emailed one of the PE teachers to ask if she could participate in class without swimming. The teacher did not respond, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also alleges that one of the instructional assistant’s lifeguard certification had expired at the time of the class.
Related: Whiteland student was underwater 52 minutes before discovered; family calls for changes
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s office determined in July, after an investigation, that school employees violated no criminal laws.
Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation Superintendent Tim Edsell said in an email the district is unable to comment on any pending litigation.
“The School Corporation and its counsel are aware of the pre suit allegations and have worked diligently with counsel to resolve the dispute,” the statement said.
The Dildine family is seeking monetary damages for medical expenses, counseling costs, funeral and burial expenses and attorney’s fees.
IndyStar archives contributed to this reporting.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Family of drowned Whiteland student files federal lawsuit
