Pennsylvania teenager expelled from school after racist classmates mercilessly called her a monkey and sang “Baa Baa Black Sheep” until she suffered a mental breakdown

The parents of a Pennsylvania teenager have just been awarded a settlement to resolve a lawsuit alleging that their child suffered extreme racist abuse in her school district.

A judge recently approved a $50,000 reward for the family of a now 17-year-old biracial teenager.

The teenager’s parents, Jenna Swisher and Reginald Gallman, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the Jersey Shore Area School District, alleging that their daughter experienced repeated racist harassment while she was a student at The Express district’s middle school. reported.

The grievance says the discrimination began in 2018. The lawsuit details specific instances where the kid was called a Black girl’s name and a monkey, was sung “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to her and heard the N-word used. Other black students also reportedly experienced similar treatment.

The lawsuit also states that Swisher reported hostility to district administrators, but her complaints were met with inaction. None of the perpetrators were ever punished.

According to reports within the lawsuit, the kid suffered “sustained racial abuse” that was so intense that she suffered a mental breakdown in 2022, forcing her to completely withdraw from the district.

Middle U.S. District Judge William I. Arbuckle approved the settlement on Monday, agreeing with the parents that it was of their daughter’s best interest. However, the school didn’t need to admit responsibility when settling accounts with the family.

Last summer, 4 school principals who were accused within the case were removed from the grievance.

Of the $50,000 amount, $13,349 in attorney fees and other legal fees will likely be deducted, leaving $36,651 that will likely be placed in a deposit receipt that the girl can have access to when she turns 18.

The Jersey Shore Area School District, positioned in rural Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, enrolled over 2,165 students in three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school through the 2023–2024 school yr.

According to the report report the Pennsylvania Department of Education shows that 94 percent of those students were white, 0.01 percent black, 0.01 percent Hispanic, and 0.03 percent multiracial.

The news concerning the settlement caused a stir in the area people.

“I have no words. It saddens me greatly to hear about the school district I graduated from!” he said Michele Welshans Ticewho used to work at a dis schoolTrit as a teacher’s assistant. “I’m absolutely appalled at this behavior by adults in school systems!! These adults should protect the scholars!! In my opinion, in the event that they don’t do that, their hearts will likely be hardened and stuffed with hatred.”

District teacher Raye Bierly said she has “witnessed all kinds of bigotry throughout my career.”

“There is nothing recent here. I did my best to suppress any of this kind of behavior that I encountered in my classroom. But bullies are smart. Well, cunning and sneaky are higher words. They do most of their cowardly, dirty work outside the reach of teachers and staff,” she said. “I’m glad that so many individuals condemn this behavior of scholars. … But we have now to ask ourselves, how do children learn this disgusting behavior? They are usually not born racist. So much starts at home, whether we would like to confess it or not.