The guardian of a 14-year-old girl is suing the Long Beach Unified School District on her behalf, alleging administrators failed to protect her from continuous bullying at Rogers Middle School, which escalated into an attack that left her with serious injuries.
The complaint, which was filed in Long Beach Superior Court last month, says the LBUSD was negligent when it “failed to control the acts of the bullies” and did not perform its mandatory duty to protect the 14-year-old student from being attacked while at school earlier this year.
District officials declined to comment on the lawsuit due to the pending legal proceedings, but said “Long Beach Unified takes all incidents of bullying very seriously and works with school staff, students, and parents to promote a healthy and inclusive school environment.”
The 14-year-old girl, according to the lawsuit, was in a classroom on March 24, when another student began antagonizing her.
At some point, the 14-year-old girl left the classroom to use the restroom, but when she returned, she found that someone had emptied her belongings out onto the floor, according to the lawsuit. One of her bullies then allegedly put food on her head.
“The minor was in a classroom under the direct supervision of a substitute teacher,” Jeffrey Molchan, the plaintiff’s attorney wrote in the complaint. “The teacher failed to take any steps to prevent or stop these bullying activities in the classroom.”
Later that day, the girl left the classroom carrying a snack in her hand when, soon after, another student who had also been bullying her took it away, according to the complaint.
The 14-year-old tried to get her snack back, but the student assaulted her—knocking her to the ground and repeatedly striking her in the head, according to the lawsuit.
A teacher eventually tried to separate the two students by dragging the victim away, but the other student continued to batter her, according to the lawsuit.
As a result of the attack, the 14-year-old was injured physically and emotionally, Molchan wrote in the complaint. Her injuries will result in some permanent disabilities, he added, but did not go into detail.
Molchan is seeking $1 million in general damages for the plaintiff, along with just over $12,000 her family has spent on medical bills as a result of the attack, court records show.
Molchan declined to comment beyond what was in the lawsuit.