A Long Beach Unified teacher is being charged with misdemeanor child abuse for his alleged rough treatment of disabled children in his class, authorities said today.
Yaun Has is a special education TK and kindergarten teacher at Cleveland Elementary in Lakewood. He’s being charged after reportedly exhibiting “very aggressive” behavior with three different students during last school year, according to Sgt. Joe Ramos with the Special Victims Bureau at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Ramos described the alleged abuse as Has “overreacting, being aggressive with the child — going hands-on and going beyond what a normal teacher would [do] to control these children when needed.”
The behavior was concerning enough that a teacher’s aide contacted the Sheriff’s Department on May 8 to report that Has had been physically aggressive with a nonspeaking autistic child, Ramos said. On May 19, the department received reports that two additional children in the class had allegedly been physically abused by the teacher, according to Ramos. The department assigned a detective to the case and began conducting interviews, he said.
The school district did not tell parents about this at the time, according to one student’s mother who contacted the Long Beach Post. Her child is one of the victims, she said. She’s frustrated Long Beach Unified wasn’t more forthcoming and that Has was only temporarily removed from the classroom after being accused of abusing kids under his care.
She said Has disappeared from school in May without any explanation.
A series of substitutes rotated through the class for the remainder of the school year, she said, but Has returned at the beginning of this school year in August.
On Sept. 4, the Sheriff’s Department submitted its case against Has to the District Attorney’s office, Ramos said. Three days later, Long Beach Unified placed Has on administrative leave, according to a letter sent to Cleveland families on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
The mother who spoke with the Post said she received a call the next day from the school’s principal informing her that the Sheriff’s Department was investigating Has for alleged physical abuse, including against her child. (She asked not to be named in this article to avoid identifying her child.)
“Was this the reason that he was removed last year?” she remembered asking the principal. When the principal said yes, she said she responded, “Then why the hell was he allowed back?”
She is still seeking answers. Her child, like other kids in the class, has limited ability to communicate, she said.
“Because these kids can’t talk, they cannot verbalize, they cannot tell us what is happening,” she said. That means parents are relying on the district not only to take care of their children, but to let families know what is going on, she said. Her child started having outbursts last year and stopped wanting to go to school after the alleged abuse was reported and Has was temporarily removed from class. She did not know why at the time but now wonders if it was connected to what happened in class.
The district declined to grant an interview or answer detailed questions from the Post but shared a written statement: “The employee remains on administrative leave as we continue to review the allegations of physical abuse involving students during the 2025-2026 school year. Because this is a confidential personnel matter, we cannot provide further details.”
The district further clarified that the email sent to Cleveland families had incorrectly stated that the teacher had been arrested. Ramos said Has was not arrested and is not in custody. Rather, as is common with misdemeanor charges, he will likely receive a letter in the mail and self-surrender to the court, Ramos said.
Has has not responded to messages from the Post or to a note left at a home connected to him.
Anyone else who believes their child may have been abused by Has can make a report at the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station or their closest police station, Ramos said.