Tallahassee Classical School is facing a discrimination lawsuit. Here's what we know
Tallahassee Classical School, the subject of recent controversy, now faces a lawsuit with claims of discrimination after a then-teacher reportedly used a racial epithet in front of students.
A then-7th grade student's mother is suing the public charter school over the incident in February 2022, which also happened to be Black History Month.
Her complaint alleges that her son's language arts teacher greeted him with "Welcome back darky," used other racial slurs in the classroom and called students names like "imbecile." The mother seeks at least $50,000 in damages, a court order against the school to prevent "future violations of law" and reimbursement for attorney's fees, her suit says.
A complaint in a lawsuit tells one side of a story. A request for comment to Tallahassee attorney Tim Qualls, chair of the school's board, has gone unanswered for more than a week, as has a message to the former teacher.
The school has yet to answer the complaint, court dockets show. Tallahassee attorney Marie Mattox is representing the plaintiff. It's not clear why the woman waited two years to sue the school.
The suit was filed in May, just two weeks before school headmaster Cara Wynn was forced to resign after only a year. School officials have not detailed why Wynn was asked to leave.
But the board has also been addressing low enrollment numbers and declining finances.
More: 'We don't have any money': Tallahassee Classical faces enrollment woes, principal ouster
The school has faced a distinct drop in enrollment since 2022, losing over 100 students in a single year. In 2022, the school had 534 students enrolled, 30.3% of whom were Black. Student enrollment dropped to 424 for the 2023-24 school year, 26.2% of its students were Black.
A search for an interim headmaster, the equivalent of a principal, is currently underway as Tallahassee Classical prepares to move under the umbrella of Great Hearts Academy, a classical charter school company based in Arizona that is moving into Florida.
The school had been affiliated with the Barney Charter School Initiative of Michigan's Hillsdale College, known for its focus on classical education and commitment to conservative principles. Hillsdale cut ties with the school after an incident involving a Renaissance art lesson that included an image of Michelangelo's "David" sculpture.
The charter school was then led by Hope Carrasquilla, who was ousted in 2023 after a viral fiasco erupted worldwide when a handful of parents objected to the "David" image's use because of its nudity.
More: Hillsdale cuts ties with Tallahassee Classical, revokes curriculum license after art outcry
Back story: Controversy over Tallahassee Classical art lesson sparks teacher, global backlash
The mother who filed the recent lawsuit met with the teacher and Carrasquilla on March 4, 2022, to discuss the incident, and the teacher admitted making the racist comments, according to the suit. But the woman said that by May 6 the teacher had not been disciplined.
She said her son struggled academically while at the school in part because of the incident. With no assurance it wouldn't happen again, she took him out of the charter school and enrolled him back into public school just as the school year was ending, the lawsuit says.
Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Classical teacher used epithet in class, lawsuit says
