Student to sue school after staff ignored him while he was being bullied for his sexuality
Guadalupe Paredes claims the school told him he brought it on himself by being gay
By Steve Brown
A student is suing his school after staff ignored him when he was being attacked by bullies.
Guadalupe Paredes, 19, claimed the school was “deliberately indifferent” to his daily torment because of his sexuality and a staff member from the Edward Bain School of Language and Art, Wisconsin, told his mother he brought it on himself by “acting gay and telling other students he was gay”.
Now Paredes has named the Kenosha Unified School District and five administrators as defendants in his case.
When he was only 10, Paredes was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment following the severe abuse he suffered at the school.
His lawsuit claims the assistant principal changed when he came out and was told to bring concerns to the principal because the new assistant “didn’t feel comfortable with [his] kind”.
When his mother spoke to administrators, they simply told him to “avoid” the harassers and he started hiding and missed classes.
When he moved school in the sixth grade, many of his harassers followed with one telling him that he should kill himself in the toilet.
His mother complained again but no written record was reported and a school official allegedly told him that he brought the problems on himself by “acting gay and telling other students he was gay”.
The lawsuit brings claims under Title IX which bans sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.