LONG ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11) — The parents of a Central Islip eighth grader are suing the school district after they say their daughter was discriminated against and bullied so badly that she became suicidal and needed hospitalization.
Greg Thomas and Antoinette Moore-Thomas claim administrators did little to nothing to protect their daughter from nonstop bullying at Ralph G. Reed Middle School.
“They would say they were gonna jump her,” Antoinette Moore-Thomas said of the bullying. “They were gonna beat her up in the school. They were gonna come to her house and beat her up. And even one time, one girl said she was gonna shoot her in the head.”
The teen’s parents said they went to their daughter’s school more than 20 times, but the bullying never stopped.
“They did absolutely nothing,” said Kenneth Mollins, the family’s attorney. “Except on one occasion, they said, ‘We have a solution. What we’re gonna do is, we’re gonna have the bullies come in the side door and your daughter is gonna come in the front.’”
The girl’s parents claim the district was not only negligent but discriminatory as well. Thomas said his daughter texted him, saying her Spanish teacher would not let her attend a field trip because she is Black. She was reportedly told that the trip was only for Hispanic students.
Thomas also claimed that the middle school’s assistant principal told him his daughter was in a same-sex relationship. He alleged that the assistant principal told him that type of relationship is wrong and unacceptable.
“That’s so discriminatory,” said Mollins.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Central Islip schools said:
“As litigation has been commenced against the District it would be inappropriate to respond regarding the incident other than to advise that the District regards the safety and welfare of its students as its paramount interest; and, accordingly undertakes all reasonable measures to safeguard its students as its paramount interest.”
Mollins claimed 20 more families have recently come forward with allegations. Mollins already represents two other families suing the Central Islip School District.
