Fisher Island Day School Sued for Allegedly Inventing Rules, Creating Fabricated Standards, Smearing a Model Student, and Retaliating Against Parents for Engaging in Protected Advocacy
Fisher Island Day School Sued for Allegedly Inventing Rules, Creating Fabricated Standards, Smearing a Model Student, and Retaliating Against Parents for Engaging in Protected Advocacy
MIAMI, FL – MARCH 31, 2026 – LAWSUIT FILED
Parents Chris Miseresky and Lauren Coleman, individually and on behalf of their minor child A.M., have filed a Verified Complaint in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, against Fisher Island Day School, Inc., Arthur Viscusi (a/k/a Art Viscusi), individually and in his capacity as Head of School, and Jana Neff, individually and in her capacity as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
THE VERIFIED COMPLAINT ALLEGES:
Miami Prep School Accused of Launching Full Smear Campaign Against Student With Zero Bad Grades or Bad Behavior
School Invented Fake “Academic Watch” Rule Out of Thin Air to Manufacture Excuse to Kick Out Student
Teachers Allegedly Ordered to Falsify Reports and Make Positive Comments “More Negative.”
When Parents Spoke Up, School Board Allegedly Retaliated With Extreme Bans, Removed Lauren Coleman as Chair of the Parents Association, and Forced the Family Out Mid-School Year
Head of School Lives in $1.5 Million+ Luxury Condo Owned by the School, Giving Board Excessive Control and Raising Questions About Impartiality
This Is Not an Isolated Case -- Other Students and Educators Have Been Subjected to Fisher Island Day School’s Playbook of Invented Rules and Predetermined Dismissals
ABOUT FISHER ISLAND DAY SCHOOL
Fisher Island Day School holds itself out as a prestigious private independent school in Miami-Dade County and is self-proclaimed to be “one of South Florida’s finest independent schools.”
ALLEGATIONS REGARDING THE STUDENT
According to the complaint, A.M. is a well-adjusted, respectful, engaged, and academically on-track student with no disciplinary history or behavioral record who never gave the School a legitimate reason for removal. The lawsuit alleges that the School engaged in a targeted, pretextual, and retaliatory course of conduct that ultimately resulted in A.M.’s constructive dismissal in mid-March 2026, late in the academic year, leaving the family with few viable educational alternatives. A.M. is far from the only victim. Other students and educators have endured the exact same playbook at Fisher Island Day School; invented rules with no standards, selective enforcement against chosen targets, and predetermined removals.
THE “ACADEMIC WATCH” DESIGNATION
The complaint states that on November 7, 2025, the School placed A.M. on a newly invented designation called “Academic Watch,” a term that appears nowhere in the Enrollment Contract, Parent-Student Handbook, Code of Student Conduct, or any other governing policy. It further alleges that the School had no written criteria, standards, or process for this designation, yet represented that it was imposed “in accordance with [the School’s] policies.”
ALLEGED FINANCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONCERNS
The complaint further alleges that Head of School Arthur Viscusi receives a substantial undisclosed non-salary benefit in the form of access to a luxury condominium in Miami Beach valued at more than $1.5 million, owned by FIDS Housing LLC, an entity affiliated with the School. These hidden financial perks, the complaint contends, create significant dependency of the administration on the Board of Trustees. This gives the Board substantial leverage and control over the Head of School and calls into question the independence, motives, and impartiality of both the administration and the Board in their decisions affecting A.M.
PARENTS’ EFFORTS AND SCHOOL RESPONSE
Plaintiffs allege they cooperated fully. They obtained a clean neuropsychological evaluation from a qualified, board-certified neuropsychologist (Dr. Lauren Miller), arranged required tutoring with A.M.’s Spanish teacher, and repeatedly sought clarification of the School’s authority. According to the complaint, the School ignored the evaluation, altered the definition of “school-approved evaluator” after the family had already relied on it, instructed the Spanish teacher not to provide the tutoring it had previously required, and directed teachers to alter narrative assessments after determining A.M.’s reports were “too positive” and needed to be made more negative.
ALLEGED STUDENT QUESTIONING
The complaint also alleges that, after the parents raised concerns in writing, school administrators questioned other sixth-grade students about A.M. by name, and used leading questions in a deliberate effort to manufacture adverse statements against him.
BOARD ACTIONS AND ALLEGED RETALIATION
On March 13, 2026, the Board of Trustees, through Chair Jana Neff, issued a response that the complaint describes as ratifying the administration’s actions without independent review and criticizing the parents for speaking up. The complaint alleges that the School then imposed new conditions on continued enrollment, including banning direct parent-teacher communication, barring parents from campus without approval, the removal of Plaintiff Lauren Coleman from her role as Chair of the Parents Association, and prohibiting criticism of the School. The family says these conditions made continued attendance untenable and amounted to constructive dismissal.
ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL RECORDS
The lawsuit further alleges that the School has refused to provide the family with complete copies of A.M.'s and his sibling’s educational records, instead insisting that records be sent only to schools chosen by the School.
LEGAL CLAIMS ASSERTED
Plaintiffs assert claims including breach of contract, tortious interference with advantageous business relationship, civil conspiracy, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, promissory estoppel, fraudulent inducement, false light invasion of privacy, and equitable accounting and inspection of records.
They seek compensatory and consequential damages, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief, including immediate court intervention to obtain access to educational records necessary to secure appropriate placement for their child, which they contend have been withheld.
PRIOR LITIGATION AGAINST THE SCHOOL
This is not the first time Fisher Island Day School has been forced to defend its practices in court. Public court records show that the School has previously been sued in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County in an action brought by a former teacher alleging unlawful discrimination and unequal treatment in compensation and benefits. In that case, the plaintiff alleged that she was paid less than a similarly situated male teacher, denied benefits provided to her comparator, and ultimately had her contract not renewed under circumstances she contended were discriminatory.
COUNSEL AND CONTACT INFORMATION
The Verified Complaint in the current matter was filed by Joseph Montgomery, Esq. of Montgomery Law Group, PLLC, the firm behind EducationLawyers.com and is available here. For media inquiries and additional information, you may direct questions to Media@EducationLawyers.com.