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A Texas school district is facing a discrimination lawsuit filed by parents who claim teachers and staff ignored their Black children being tormented and abused, NBC News reports.
In a lawsuit filed against Clear Creek Independent School District last month, parents Chanda Jackson and Tatiawana Jackson say officials at North Pointe Elementary School turned a blind eye to incidents of "racial discrimination," which created a "hostile environment" for their children.
According to the lawsuit, one student, identified as "John Doe" was choked, punched in the eye, and tripped by his peers on multiple occasions in 2019. John Doe was also "punished" by a teacher who wouldn't let him use the restroom, which caused the child to "wet his pants," the lawsuit alleges.
Another victim, identified as "Jane Doe," suffered from hearing loss after being slapped by her classmate, per the suit. She also allegedly had to get stitches following a student biting her on the hand.
Leila Sarmecanic, the general counsel for Clear Creek ISD, said officials were "blindsided by the allegations."
“We don’t discriminate against students on the basis of their race,” Sarmecanic said.
However, according to the lawsuit, Jane Doe was also forced to eat lunch alone in an incident where a teacher removed her from a table away from her friends with no explanation.
Sarmecanic said the teacher is still employed at the school as there have been no formal complaints made about her, the elementary school, or to school district officials regarding race discrimination.
“We have gone back through nurses' records and discipline records, and we have not found anything to support the allegations in the lawsuit,” she said.
Yet, per the the lawsuit, the alleged discrimination has made the children feel “depressed, sad, traumatized, distraught, with feelings of isolation and loss of self-worth.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump spoke out about the lawsuit last week.
“This school’s INACTION in the presence of mistreatment can’t go unpunished!” Crump said on Twitter.
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