Lawsuit claims disabled Bay City Western student was bullied by peers
By Anna Kathman
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BAY CITY, Michigan (WNEM) — A federal lawsuit filed against the Bay County School District alleges that a disabled student was bullied for years by their peers, and that staff turned a blind eye to the incidents.
The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 17 on behalf of the 11th grade student by a guardian, Jedd Heinz, according to court documents.
Court documents said that the student had been a part of the school district for four years.
In 2009, the student, who was four years old at the time, was involved in a car accident which left him permanently disabled. Court documents said that the student has a traumatic brain injury and affects his ability to walk and speak.
From 2019 until the present, the lawsuit alleges that the student has been harassed and discriminated against by 18 classmates, also described as “problematic students”.
Court documents state that his peers would threaten to kill the student’s dogs and shoot his grandfather, “slump” the student’s grandfather, and tell him that family members deserved to die.
The lawsuit also describes other incidents where his peers would grab his pencils and papers, pour chocolate milk on his food, shove him against the wall, and call him names like “stupid, loser, quitter, four eyes, ignorant and cripple”.
After multiple complaints to teachers and school staff, the lawsuit said that all the students who were harassing the plaintiff remained at the school and in classes with him.
“Defendant failed to take any remedial measures to stop the harassment,” court documents said. “Defendant, through its agents, students, representatives and employees, were predisposed to harass and discriminate against Plaintiff on the basis of his disability and acted in accordance with that predisposition.”
The lawsuit also states that the school’s actions were intentional or were carried out with reckless indifference to the plaintiff’s rights and sensibilities.
Because of the harassment, the lawsuit was filed for damages, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act.
The lawsuit is asking the court to find against Bay City Public Schools and is asking for more than $75,000 in damages plus others costs and attorney fees.
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