• A Fresno Unified student died after having an asthma attack at school. Instead of calling an ambulance, a nurse called the student's parents to pick her up.
• Two years later, Fresno Unified punished another nurse for looking into the deceased girl's medical records when her brother sought help dealing with her death.
• The punished nurse is suing the district, saying it tried to cover up the death. He wants his name cleared and justice for the family.

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In 2022, a Fresno Unified elementary student died after having an asthma attack at school.

Following the asthma attack, a staff member took the student to the school nurse after the girl used her inhaler six times to little effect, alleges a lawsuit filed against the district Tuesday.

Very quickly, the student lost the ability to walk.

But instead of calling an ambulance — as the district’s asthma policy instructs — that nurse called to have the child’s grandmother pick her up. The student’s breathing problems were so severe that she required a wheelchair to reach the car. Staff also needed an interpreter to communicate with the grandmother.

Within an hour of being released from the school, she lost consciousness and never awoke until she died several days later.

“I was literally sick to my stomach because I knew 9-1-1 should have been called. It 99% probably would have saved the student’s life.” — Lawrence White-Zarate, former Fresno Unified nurse

However, the district’s response to the child’s death wasn’t...

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