The lawsuit, filed Sept. 9 in Oregon, concerns a sixth-grade lunch on Oct. 20, 2025. About 37 pretzels were coated with crushed Alto-Sham concentrated oven cleaner, which contains caustic sodium hydroxide, according to the complaint and district records. The district has characterized the incident as human error, saying a kitchen employee mistook the cleaner for salt.

The student identified in the suit as L.L. ate a pretzel and immediately felt burning in his mouth and throat, along with chest pain and stomach discomfort, the complaint says. It alleges he was kept in a room and monitored for about an hour without his parents being informed, was denied requests to call home, and was returned to class after staff deemed him asymptomatic. His mother said he later came home with a sore throat and stomach pain.

The complaint says staff did not contact Poison Control until about 27 minutes after they realized what had happened, and families were not emailed until nearly two hours after students ate the pretzels. It alleges the district failed to keep caustic chemicals away from food, properly train staff and prevent a crushed cleaner puck from being left on a food-preparation counter.

The lawsuit also recounts the account of substitute kitchen worker Chloe Larson. According to the complaint, Larson tasted the seasoning, felt a burning sensation and found the discarded packet; she then pressed the lead kitchen worker to check it, revealing the label “oven cleaner.” The complaint says the lead worker initially described the substance to administrators as soap.

The family’s claims include negligence, strict liability, unlawful confinement and violations of civil rights. The civil-rights allegations argue that L.L.’s family was excluded from medical decisions and that the student was exposed to a known danger. Such claims can be difficult to prove, according to legal experts cited in reporting on the case.

Tigard police reviewed the incident and filed no criminal charges. Police closed their investigation the day they spoke by phone with the lead kitchen worker, saying they lacked kitchen photos or video and could not establish probable cause. The suit alleges that the district’s outside attorney interviewed seven staff members but not Larson, who was a substitute in the kitchen that day.

An attorney has appeared for the defendants, but as of Oct. 23 had not filed a substantive response to the claims. The district said it could not comment on pending litigation and confirmed that the lead kitchen worker remains employed by the district.