ELBA, AL (WDNews) – The Elba City Board of Education and two former school principals are facing a federal lawsuit alleging they failed to safeguard a 14-year-old student from severe bullying that reportedly resulted in the youngster’s suicide.
S.W.’s parents, Carmeisha and Cory Williams, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on Monday. According to the legal lawsuit, school authorities intentionally ignored years of harassment against S.W., a mixed-race kid who struggled with mental health concerns and identified as transgender.
The lawsuit claims that because of their color, gender identity, and mental health condition, S.W. was bullied by both instructors and students at Elba High School. According to the complaint, even after S.W. was admitted to the hospital in April 2023 for suicidal ideation, school officials were constantly told about the abuse but did nothing.
Former principals Wynn Grimes and Dr. Warren Weeks are named in the lawsuit. In front of classmates, Weeks allegedly forcibly took off the student’s sweatshirt the day before S.W. passed away, displaying scars from self-harm and leaving the student both physically and emotionally vulnerable.
S.W. passed away on August 9, 2023, by suicide.
Title IX, Title VI, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and 14th Amendment constitutional safeguards are among the federal civil rights statutes that are allegedly violated, according to the lawsuit. State claims for outrage and violence are also included.
In addition to a permanent injunction requiring the school system to establish more robust anti-bullying rules and training, the parents are requesting compensatory and punitive damages.
The complaint has not yet received a public response from the Elba City School District.
