A Pennsylvania family has been awarded a $50,000 settlement after alleging that their child endured racist bullying at school.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Jenna Swisher and Reginald Gallman, the parents of a now-17-year-old teenager who was subjected to repeated racial harassment while in middle school, recently settled their lawsuit against the Jersey Shore Area School District.
The teen's parents alleged that discrimination against their child started in 2018. According to their lawsuit, the teenager was called a monkey and once had “Baa Baa Black Sheep” sung to her. The child also heard the n-word used at school, according to the suit.
The "ongoing racial harassment" was so intense that the girl suffered from a mental breakdown in 2022, the lawsuit states. She later withdrew from the school.
According to the lawsuit, Swisher reported the harassment to district administrators who failed to take action. None of the alleged offenders were disciplined. The lawsuit also claimed that other Black students were subjected to similar instances of racist bullying.
U.S. Middle District Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle approved the settlement earlier this month. Under the terms of the settlement, the school didn't admit liability.
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