A Tulare County court dismissed the misdemeanor child abuse complaint against a former Visalia Unified special education teacher on statute-of-limitations grounds. Amanda Simmons appeared on camera in the coverage alongside co-counsel Leigh Anne Hodge. The criminal case has ended; the families’ civil claims continue.

Amanda Simmons was quoted in ABC30 Fresno’s coverage of the arraignment in the Visalia Unified special education abuse case, as families of nonverbal students spoke publicly for the first time. Ambika Law represents families of nonverbal students with disabilities who allege that Visalia Unified School District failed to act on reports of physical abuse in a self-contained special education classroom at Highland Elementary School — and did not tell parents for more than a year.