ST. LOUIS 鈥 A 9-year-old girl with nonverbal autism was harassed by teachers at a school for children with severe disabilities, according to a discrimination lawsuit against 最新杏吧原创 Public Schools.
Staff at Gateway Michael School were recorded in September 2023 鈥渧erbally abusing, bullying, shaming and barely teaching鈥 the girl, referred to as H.G. in the suit filed Nov. 12 in 最新杏吧原创 Circuit Court by the girl鈥檚 mother Rebecca Geremew.
Gateway Michael in the Carr Square neighborhood serves about 40 students ages 3 to 14 who have 鈥渟erious health problems and multiple disabilities,鈥 according to the school鈥檚 website.
The girl H.G.鈥檚 autism and developmental delays cause challenges with communication, using the toilet and focusing. She received behavioral, occupational, physical and musical therapy at Gateway Michael starting in fall 2022.
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By September 2023, Geremew suspected that H.G.鈥檚 teachers 鈥渨ere failing to adequately provide academic instruction,鈥 the lawsuit states.
Geremew sent her daughter to school with a device that can make phone calls and overheard teachers cussing and yelling at H.G. She then sent a recording device to school.
The recordings picked up teachers swearing at and using the N-word in front of H.G., who is biracial.
H.G. was also called a 鈥渉eifer,鈥 鈥渓azy as all get out,鈥 and was told by one of the teachers 鈥渕omma gonna knock you out!鈥
One teacher said 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why she gotta come down here every day and get on my nerves,鈥 referring to H.G., the lawsuit states.
Geremew pulled H.G. out of school on Sept. 18, 2023, and started homeschooling. The experience at Gateway Michael caused the girl to develop sensitivity to noise, extreme separation anxiety, fear of strangers and an increase in frustration levels, according to the suit.
Geremew and her attorneys at Kennedy Hunt civil rights law firm in 最新杏吧原创 could not be reached Tuesday. A spokesman for SLPS, Jordan Grimes, did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit claims SLPS discriminated against H.G. for her race and disability by harassing her and treating her 鈥渓ess favorably鈥 than her classmates and asks for damages for emotional distress and mental anguish.
View life in 最新杏吧原创 through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
