Ashley Guereque says she was suspended and fired a day later from St. Gregory the Great School in Whittier after she complained about a vice principal's alleged treatment of kindergarten students, according to her lawsuit. Now, more than a year after she first went public with her allegations, Guereque has reached a tentative settlement in the case against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Settlement Papers Filed Ahead of Dismissal Deadline
Guereque's attorney filed court papers notifying Judge Wendy Chang of a conditional resolution, according to court papers, with the case expected to face a dismissal request deadline of November 30. The settlement's terms were not disclosed. Guereque, 32, filed her lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and St. Gregory the Great School, alleging wrongful termination and a violation of the state Labor Code, according to mynewsla.com.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles and St. Gregory the Great School denied Guereque's allegations in court papers and argued her claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The defendants also stated that their actions regarding Guereque were taken for legitimate purposes, as reported by MyNewsLA.com.
Allegations of Rough Treatment Toward Young Students
Guereque was hired as an instructional assistant in August 2023, with duties that included making copies of course materials, supervising students during lunch and recess, and distributing papers. Her lawsuit alleges that a vice principal pushed a kindergarten student into a room, then jerked him by one wrist, grabbed him under the arms, lifted him to her face and screamed at him before bringing him down to the floor, where he fell on his buttocks and hit his head, according to the mynewsla.com report that first detailed the case.
The suit also alleges that the vice principal grabbed a 4-year-old student by one wrist and took him to his classroom, and that she directed students to clean lunch tables with disinfectant wipes despite manufacturer instructions. Separately, the lawsuit alleges the vice principal restricted student access to restrooms by locking doors or standing in front of them, and that a kindergartener had an accident after being denied access, the outlet reported.
Principal Allegedly Dismissed Complaints as Vice Principal's 'Reputation'
When Guereque reported the alleged student misconduct to the principal, the principal allegedly acknowledged the vice principal had “a reputation” before telling Guereque she “needed to toughen up and deal with it,” according to the lawsuit. The principal reportedly only later said, “fine, I'll investigate it.” Guereque, who the suit says was a mandatory reporter of alleged child abuse, also notified the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a priest with the archdiocese about the allegations.
A separate incident described in the suit filed in June 2025 states that Guereque reported concerns in June 2025 about a student who was having trouble breathing and needed an inhaler and supervision until his mother arrived at school. The principal allegedly ordered Guereque back to her classroom after she brought the student to the administration offices, as noted by MyNewsLA.com.
Suspension and Termination Followed Complaints
Guereque alleges she was suspended in November 2024 for alleged insubordination, escorted off the property and terminated the next day, per a report from MyNewsLA.com. She has characterized the sequence as retaliation for her complaints about the vice principal's alleged conduct toward students.
The dispute later moved into a discovery fight over internal school records. Judge Wendy Chang ordered the defendants to turn over some of the internal documents sought by Guereque's attorneys and imposed $8,480 in sanctions, the outlet reported in a follow-up account of the case. The order pertained to portions of the vice principal's personnel file relating to a suspected child abuse report within the past five years, as well as the turnover of the principal's personnel file pertaining to any complaints of retaliation, whistleblower retaliation or wrongful termination within the same five-year window.
At the time of that ruling, the archdiocese said it had not yet been served with the complaint and that no comment could be made on its merits because it considered the matter a personnel issue. Cases alleging retaliation against school employees who report safety concerns to outside authorities have surfaced elsewhere in California; a former Elk Grove Unified School District social worker, for instance, has claimed the district retaliated against her after she provided documents to law enforcement during a threat investigation, according to The Sacramento Bee. The outcome of the Guereque settlement's specific terms remains undisclosed as the November 30 dismissal deadline approaches.
