Non-binary student sues school district after years of alleged harassment ignored

A non-binary student is suing their school district over a allegedly failing to protect them from harm and investigate incidents of gender-based assault and harassment.

The Loy Norrix High School student, anonymised as Jane Doe, has filed a federal lawsuit against Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) in Michigan and alleged they were subject to hateful remarks in a Snapchat group, the victim of battery by a group and were filmed without their consent while undressing in a changing room.

The incidents transpired in April 2023, when they were 14 years old.

In the lead up to the events, Doe claimed they had already been the target of bullying because of their “gender non-conforming appearance” and “non-binary identity”.

On April 6, several students allegedly engaged in a Snapchat conversation where they made hateful remarks about Doe’s appearance and perceived gender, describing them as “manly”.

In legal documents for the case, Doe claimed they reported the incidents to the school but nothing was done.

The following day, 7 April, Doe alleged further harassment and bullying to the school’s security guard, who reportedly responded by telling them to mind their own business, said Doe would be “fine”.

Based on the security guard’s assurance, Doe went to change for gym but was allegedly then trapped in the changing room by the same students from the Snapchat conversation. These peers allegedly blocked Doe’s exit and filmed them partially undressed, a video which was with other classmates.

Doe claims that whilst school staff knew about the video, they failed to stop it being shared.

Doe reportedly made two staff members aware of the issue and was informed the ringleader would be sent home, however they were not, which led to another confrontation in the bathroom.

This alleged incident saw the ringleader and a group of students “pummel the stall door and walls, all while making threats and attempting to coerce Jane Doe into a fight,” according to court documents.

Doe claims they attempted to escape the bathroom but in a “5-1” assault “the students trapped, attacked, and punched Jane Doe several times in the side of the head, causing a black eye”.

This was allegedly filmed by another student and shared with other classmates.

When made aware of the attack, a male security guard is alleged to have entered the women’s bathroom and dragged Doe out by their hood and pushed them down the hallway to the main office.

Both Doe’s mother and the ringleader’s family were called to the school, but the two groups were not separated leading to a further assault.

Doe was subsequently suspended for 10 days.

On April 17, Doe and their mother requested the school district conduct a formal Title IX investigation into the alleged sex and gender-based harassment, bullying, and assault they experienced. Alongside this, they also requested a full investigation into the school’s alleged failure to protect Doe from continued abuse.

However, since then, the lawsuit claims the district has made no progress and there is no timeline for completion.

Eric Delaporte of Delaporte Law, the legal firm representing the student, said the student was targeted because of their identity.

“I was looking at a situation that was just offensive and it offended me from a civil rights point of view and a civil liberties point of view. And so I took that case,” he said, as quoted by WMUK.

Delaporte claimed that, ultimately, Doe was punished, despite being the victim in the case.

“This entire thing is just a bad situation. It was poorly handled. And I think the most troubling thing is, had the school district taken responsibility, we wouldn’t be here,” he said.