Overview

• The lawsuit, filed in San Diego Superior Court, alleges Coronado Unified failed to protect seventh-grader Gabriel Palacios from persistent bullying that intensified in February after an accidental Snapchat post involving a medical image.
• The complaint says a student saved the content and shared or threatened to share it, and that school officials questioned students but took no further action such as confiscating devices or conducting thorough interviews.
• Attorneys say Palacios, who was neurodivergent with Tourette’s, ADHD and OCD, increasingly ate lunch in the counselor’s office to avoid peers and did not receive effective protective or mental-health support.
• The filing also alleges unjust discipline, including a suspension over a bottle opener labeled as a weapon, and special-education lapses such as the absence of a required aide days before his April death.
• The district rejected the family’s government tort claim on Sept. 25, stating its investigation does not support the allegations and that it will fully defend itself, while the suit additionally names unnamed students and their parents and seeks punitive damages.