Inset: A photo showing Texas high school student Sebastian Romo, who died after swallowing a rubber glove (GoFundMe). Background: The Texas high school that was blamed by Sebastian Romo’s parents for his death (Google Maps).
In a tragic incident at a Texas high school, a special education staff member allegedly allowed a student with “severe autism” to fatally choke on a rubber glove while distracted by her cellphone, according to a lawsuit. The student, identified as Sebastian Romo, was known for his “infantile-like propensity to chew objects around him.”
The lawsuit was filed by Sebastian’s parents against the Spring Branch Independent School District and the involved staff member following the incident at Stratford High School. The district reached a settlement on May 19, 2025. The case was initiated in February of the same year, with both the district and the staff member named as defendants.
Sebastian passed away in February 2023 after being in a coma, resulting from the choking incident. According to court documents obtained by Law&Crime, his parents noted that Sebastian had a history of ingesting foreign objects, such as tissue paper and a binder clip, the latter of which required hospitalization and intubation.
Suffering from “severe” autism and Williams-Beuren Deletion Syndrome, Sebastian needed “very close supervision” in all environments, including at home, in his community, and at school, as stated in the complaint.
The lawsuit further alleges that Sebastian was often left “isolated” and “unsupervised” for significant parts of his mornings, confined in a “makeshift caged area” within his classroom. Despite the availability of a chewy toy, staff reportedly failed to provide it, leaving rubber gloves and other potentially ingestible items easily accessible to Sebastian.
“Despite it being available, he was not provided his chewy toy by staff,” the complaint said. “The classroom and surrounding areas contained readily accessible rubber gloves and other potentially ingestible items.”
On the day he choked, Sebastian allegedly “obtained a rubber glove or piece of a rubber glove and placed it in his mouth” after his lunch period. He then entered the school’s gymnasium and began choking, the complaint said.
“Surveillance footage shows him in visible distress for an extended period,” according to the complaint. “He stumbled, fell, crawled on his knees, hit his head, and repeatedly brought his hands to his mouth. Despite these visible signs of distress, no staff member intervened; rather, SBISD staff appear to be huddled together, chatting.”
The staffer named in the lawsuit, a speech-language pathology assistant employed by Soliant Health and assigned to Stratford High School, was present and “preoccupied with her cellphone,” per the complaint.
“Like the SBISD employees, she neglected her duties,” the complaint said. “[Sebastian] would eventually trip and fall over another student sitting on the floor adjacent to [the staffer]. Only upon [Sebastian] falling, did [the staffer] then look up from her cellphone.”
By this point, Sebastian had “ceased breathing, he had turned blue, and he was in a state of unconsciousness,” according to the complaint. Nobody attempted CPR or other lifesaving measures, nor did anyone attempt to “remove what should have been a known foreign object” including the Heimlich maneuver, per the complaint.
“It was later determined that [Sebastian’s] airway had been obstructed by a piece of purple medical glove consistent with those used and accessible within the Life Skills classroom and surrounding areas,” the complaint said. “[Sebastian] suffered catastrophic oxygen deprivation and died a few days later.”
Sebastian’s parents alleged that “this tragedy occurred despite years of warnings, repeated prior incidents, known risks, and readily available preventative measures.” Stratford High School staff allegedly “failed to have a formal policy and procedure on the disposal of the soiled rubber gloves” used in assisting Sebastian, as well as his classmates.
“The School District should have responded with a number of accommodations to make the environment safer for [Sebastian] and his peers,” the complaint concluded. “Instead, the School District apparently had a custom and practice of leaving this important safety concern to individuals. As should be obvious, this was a mortal and reckless oversight by SBISD.”
The district provided a statement to the Houston Chronicle on the settlement and lawsuit, saying, “The district denies wrongdoing in this tragic incident, and the court dismissed most of the family’s claims against SBISD. We do not have further comment out of respect for the privacy of the family.”
Terms of the settlement were not publicly released.
