A classroom technician who worked with an aggressive student notorious for disruptions alleges that she ultimately lost her job for properly documenting incidents involving the boy and others, prompting her to sue the Corona-Norco Unified School District, it was announced Thursday.
Alejandrina King of San Diego filed the whistleblower retaliation suit in Riverside County Superior Court based on her experiences at John Adams Elementary School. The suit was formally announced Thursday during a news briefing outside the CNUSD administration building on Clark Avenue in Norco.
The plaintiff worked directly for Oldsmar, Florida-based Sunbelt Staffing — also a defendant in her civil action — as a “registered behavior technician.” According to her civil complaint, Sunbelt assigned King to Adams from Sept. 12, 2025, to March 5, 2026, with responsibility for handling the “Behavior Intervention Plan” of a boy with maladaptive issues, designated as “special needs.”
The boy was a student in the classroom of teacher Teresa Azzarello, court papers said. The suit noted the youth’s case was deemed “high profile” and that he had history of emotional imbalances, pointing to an instance in which he “bit and scratched Azzarello” and another in which he “attempted to kick a classmate.”
The episodes led to his being physically restrained.
“The plaintiff documented eight to 12 or more behavioral incidents per day, multiple early classroom dismissals, class evacuations, staff injuries, verbal threats and two student send-homes within three days,” according to the complaint.
Previous actions by the school district to limit the student’s impacts led to legal action by his parents, who succeeded in keeping him at Adams Elementary, but with a personal behavior technician on hand to contain him and document his activity, as well as those around him, which became King’s responsibility, according to the plaintiff.
She said that despite the disruptions, the youth made “measurable progress” while she was assigned to his case.
When King began documenting what she perceived as unwarranted interventions against the youth, the plaintiff said she encountered push-back from Azzarello, Principal Andrea Kea and others.
In January, a report was submitted that detailed how “`staff responses may unintentionally reinforce problem behavior’ and that `inconsistent or limited opportunities for the student to communicate needs’ contributed to his behavioral challenges,” according to the suit.
Following an incident in early February that left Azzarello with an injury, the child was sent home, and when King met with her to discuss what had occurred, the teacher allegedly compared trying to talk to the child as akin to “negotiating with terrorists,” the complaint said.
The plaintiff alleged she was deprived use of space set aside for behavioral health counseling, worked “off the clock” to resolve issues with the boy and was subject to “hostility and exclusion” when she tried to present data concerning the Behavior Intervention Plan and how it might be better applied.
On Feb. 23, the plaintiff was trying to de-escalate an episode involving the student and other staff and children when she became “physically pinned against a wall,” causing needless physical danger to everyone, according to the suit.
King presented her concerns to Kea and supervisors at Sunbelt Staffing, filing a formal grievance and alleging “noncompliance” with the Behavior Intervention Plan. She “expressly invoked her rights under the … California Whistleblower Protection Act,” which is part of the Labor Code, in submitting her concerns, court papers said.
Less than two weeks later, she was removed from her position at Adams Elementary. She was informed by her supervisors that her services within CNUSD were no longer required, after which she was sent to a school in Orange County. That assignment ended in early June. Since then, she has been unemployed, according to the suit.
“The Corona-Norco Unified School District is committed to providing all students with high-quality, free, appropriate public education and to comply with all applicable federal and state laws,” according to a CNUSD statement released to City News Service. “The district remains focused on supporting students and ensuring that appropriate educational services are provided.”
Administrators declined to comment specifically on King’s case because it involves pending litigation.
Sunbelt Staffing did not reply to requests for comment Thursday.
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages based on alleged whistleblower retaliation, wrongful termination, breaches of state law in providing rest periods and back wages owed.
No hearings have been set yet in the civil action.