Former student files lawsuit against board of education after facing alleged discrimination
GREENFIELD, Tenn. — In May we spoke to a high school graduate who told us she was sidelined during her high school graduation, now she’s filing a civil suit against the school district.
When we interviewed the graduate, Kennedy Lee, she told us she was placed in the bleachers by the school’s principal due to a disability.
Lee told us she has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS.
Due to this disability, not only does Lee say she was forced to attend her graduation from the bleachers, but she also claimed to have been alienated from her peers by attending classes in a closet at the school with other special needs children.
July 12, Lee filed a civil lawsuit against the Weakley County Board of Education.
In the suit, Lee claims the school district violated her rights in five ways.
- In count one, lee says the district violated the American Disabilities Act of 1990 by their alleged discrimination.
- Count two says that the district violated section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
- Count three says the school district created an environment that subjected Lee to bullying and harassment from her peers due to her disability.
- Count four says they violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protections clause.
- And count five is a 14th Amendment due process claim, that quotes the amendment, “No state shall deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
In the document Lee is asking for; admittance of guilt in violating ADA, section 504, and the constitution, the addition of mandatory training to Weakley County school staff, and for the district to pay attorney’s fees, and expenses. A jury trial was requested for this suit.
We received a quote from Lee’s attorney, Jessica Salonus, that says: “Kennedy’s disability may sometimes limit her ability to physically stand, but nobody will question her standing up to this school system.”
We reached out to the Weakley County School District, who was not immediately available for comment.
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