A five-year-old kindergartener with autism was charged with felony aggravated assault after throwing objects and pushing a classmate at H.B. Williams Elementary School in Sumner County, and his parents are now suing the school district and the assistant principal who they say pursued the case as an act of retaliation.
The child's parents allege in the federal lawsuit that Sumner County Schools violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal law prohibiting discrimination in programs receiving federal funding, according to WKRN News 2. The suit, filed in federal court, names both the district and Brandon Smart, a Sumner County high school assistant principal, as defendants, with the family identified by initials to protect the child's privacy, per The Tennessean.
Police incident records from September 2025 describe the child throwing items including a plastic hourglass, glue sticks, toys, and furniture inside his classroom, as well as pushing a classmate at recess — some students were hurt by thrown objects and had to be seen by a school nurse, although the sources do not describe serious injuries, the same Tennessean reporting notes. School resource officer Larry Burke wrote in his report that he believed the child showed an intention to hurt others, despite the absence of any physical injuries.
Prosecutors Declined, But Private Petitions Moved Forward
When the Sumner County District Attorney's Office and juvenile court reviewed the initial police referral, public prosecutors swiftly declined to pursue charges and dismissed the case. That decision led Smart and another parent to file criminal petitions independently, the Tennessean reports.
According to WKRN, Smart filed a petition seeking to charge the child, and parents of the boy's classmates also filed petitions of their own; one of those petitions was later dropped. WKRN reports the plaintiffs characterize Smart's effort as retaliation, with an alleged end goal of seeing the boy removed from school. Smart's own child was a classmate of the five-year-old at H.B. Williams Elementary when the incident occurred, according to Liberty Creek High School, where Smart serves as assistant principal within the Sumner County Board of Education system.
A school resource officer ultimately charged the five-year-old with felony aggravated assault, WKRN reports. At the child's initial juvenile court appearance, his parents refused to have him sign a statement acknowledging he understood his legal rights. Court proceedings were then stayed for competency evaluations, and in April 2026 a judge formally dismissed all criminal petitions after ruling the boy was not competent to stand trial, per the Tennessean's account.
No Minimum Age Under Tennessee Law
Tennessee has no state-law minimum age for charging a child with a crime, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, meaning children as young as five can face formal criminal petitions in the state's courts. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network estimates roughly 1 in 36 children, or 2.8%, are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Before the child enrolled in kindergarten at H.B. Williams Elementary for the 2025–2026 school year, he had completed several months of intensive therapy and was considered ready for a traditional classroom with support, according to the National Council on Severe Autism. WKRN reports the child's parents had alerted the school to their son's special needs, but Sumner County Schools initially declined to provide the requested resources, saying it needed to gather its own evidence. The district agreed to provide an aide only after further incidents involving pushing, shoving, and throwing objects at other children in August and September 2025, per WKRN.
Separately, following the September 2025 incident, the child's mother filed a formal administrative complaint against school resource officer Larry Burke for initiating criminal charges against a five-year-old without notifying the parents first — a complaint law enforcement officials dismissed, according to the Tennessean's reporting.
Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation, Malicious Prosecution
Beyond the ADA and federal funding-discrimination claims against the district, the lawsuit accuses Smart individually of abuse of process, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violating the Equal Protection Clause, and First Amendment retaliation, WKRN reports.
Justin Gilbert, who owns Gilbert Law and represents the child's family, told WKRN the parents are standing up for their child. Gilbert said that failing to provide supports can deny the rights of a child with a disability and risk harming other children as well.
Brad Meshell, executive director of Jacob's Audible, a Nashville-based nonprofit that helps parents of children with autism, told WKRN the case could set a precedent for other districts. Meshell said the case is ultimately about standing up for the child and wanting him to be heard. Federal law requires schools to provide appropriate support to children with disabilities, a requirement central to the family's claims.
WKRN reported that it had not received responses from Sumner County Schools, the Sumner County District Attorney, or Brandon Smart.
