KCK Unified School District accused of failing to intervene, report sexual abuse: Lawsuit
A mother is suing the Kansas City, Kansas, Unified School District for allegedly failing to protect her sixth grade student from sexual harassment, according to a Wyandotte County District Court lawsuit.
While attending Eisenhower Middle School, her son alleged he was groped and verbally abused by another sixth grade student. The mother contended the school was negligent in taking steps to stop the abuse, according to the lawsuit petition filed Aug. 2.
In math and band class the other sixth grader allegedly told the young boy that he wanted to have sex with him and on multiple occasions touched the boy’s buttocks, according to court documents.
When school officials were made aware, they promised to prevent further harassment by switching the victimized student’s schedule. But, the pair remained in classes together from fall 2021 through January 2022, according to court documents.
A Title IX complaint regarding the abuse did not mention sexual harassment despite the mother’s concerns, according to the lawsuit.
In a January Zoom call, Superintendent of Kansas City, Kansas, Unified School District Anna Stubblefield allegedly told the mother that the school had “failed” to protect her son.
The lawsuit alleges the failure stemmed from a lack of staff training around the reporting and investigating of “gender discriminatory, harassing and abusive conduct.” The district is accused of breaking school policy prohibiting sexual harassment, which includes “verbal harassment” and “pressure for sexual activity,” by allowing the sixth graders to remain in class together.
The district is also accused of being aware of the sixth grader’s abusive conduct toward other students as well.
An attorney for the plaintiffs declined to comment on the lawsuit or further damages as of Thursday.
Spokesman for Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Edwin Birch declined to comment on the pending litigation.
‘Take care of this’
The victim started attending Eisenhower Middle School on Aug. 23, 2021. Soon after, the harassment began, according to court documents.
A classmate was seen blowing kisses at the sixth grader, making “sexual gestures,” and looking at him as he “touched himself,” per the lawsuit.
Then on Sept. 8, the classmate allegedly “put his hands on” the other sixth grade student during math class. The math teacher alerted the victim’s mother by text after the incident.
“We are absolutely going to take care of this,” said the message, according to court documents.
The mother met with Assistant Principal Deepti Bhatia about the alleged harassment on Sept. 14 and then again with another school official on Oct. 5. By the end of the month on Oct. 27, Bhatia told the mother a Title IX investigation had been opened into the harassment claims.
A month later the mother told the former principal of Eisenhower Middle School, Joseph Jewett, about the harassment while at a Pastries with Parents event.
She said other school officials were aware that the classmate had been “blowing kisses” and telling her son he wanted to have sex with him.
Her son allegedly suffered harassment again on Nov. 3 in band class. The teacher spotted the classmate making “inappropriate gestures, sounds” and then watched as he “touched him on the buttocks.”
That same day Bhatia called the mother to say her student’s schedule had been changed. She alleged to have promised “steps would be taken” so that “no further incidents” would occur.
The mother felt the schedule change punished her son for being a victim of sexual harassment, according to court documents.
During parent teacher conferences on Nov. 10, the mother was told the sixth grader accused of sexual harassment had caused issues for other students as well. The math teacher also told the mother the sixth grade classmate had touched her son’s buttocks while in the hallway.
‘All he has done’
Five days later the mother met again with school officials, including Bhatia, to let them know about the latest incident of harassment. At that time, Bhatia said she had a “stack of papers” she had planned to send to central office regarding the alleged abuse, according to court documents.
But the two students remained in band class together through January.
“Why is he still here after all he has done?” the victim said to Jewett and Assistant Principal Kyle Joyce, according to court documents.
In January, the student went with his mother and her aunt to fill out a report with the Title IX office.
On Jan. 21, Jewett called the mother to say her son had skipped band class.
That day, the other student allegedly started “rubbing his private parts” and again told the sixth grader he wanted to have sex with him.
The mother then met with Lisa Walker, district Title IX coordinator. Walker said the school’s complaint did not mention any sexual harassment.
On Jan. 24, the mother filed a police report with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.
Three days later, the mother met with Superintendent of Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Anna Stubblefield to discuss the alleged sexual harassment and efforts to protect her son.
“We failed you,” Stubblefield said, according to court documents.
The lawsuit alleged the harassment continued “in part because [the district] failed to take appropriate actions and failed to abide by appropriate policies and procedures to ensure that [the sixth grader] and other male students were free from sexual harassment.”
The petition seeks damages for the alleged emotional distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder and humiliation, following the abuse. It is also seeking punitive damages for the district’s “reckless indifference.”
