Highland School Board authorizes $23,000 settlement in bullying lawsuit

The Highland School Board approved a $23,000 payment on March 27 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former student who alleged she was bullied to the point where she quit school and later attempted suicide.

Highland Superintendent Mike Sutton said the settlement was not an admission of any wrongdoing on the district’s part. Sutton said the decision to approve the negotiated settlement was a financial one.

“I believe it was in the best interest of the district and our insurance to settle the case without going to trial, purely from a financial standpoint,” said Sutton.

The suit had twice been dismissed in U.S. District Court. However, the rulings were being appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

In the suit, a former Highland High School student, identified as “J.K.” in court documents, alleged she was bullied by several students because she was a special education student.

The harassment first began in November 2013, the suit claimed, with other students allegedly calling J.K embarrassing names such as “fat,” “ugly,” “whore,” and “skank” and making pig noises or sounds.

The situation became physical the next month, the suit alleged. J.K.’s attorneys, in court documents, said she was shoved into a door and lockers by various students and was tripped while walking up the stairs.

J.K. said she told her teacher and case worker about the harassment. The student then notified her parents, and her mother told the student’s caseworker that she was concerned, but after both instances, the school took no action to remedy the issue, the suit claimed.

J.K’s complaint states the harassment continued to be a problem until she stopped attending school in the third week of December 2013. At this time, J.K. began homeschooling.

About a month later, on Jan. 22, 2014, J.K. attempted to kill herself and was hospitalized, the suit alleged.

According to the original lawsuit, in March 2014, J.K. and her mother met with the HHS assistant principal to discuss the alleged harassment, which included providing the names of the children who bullied J.K. But the suit claims no action was taken.

After the meeting, J.K. tried going back to school twice, both times she went back to homeschooling shortly after her return.

In dismissing the suit, the court ruled that J.K. and her mother had not exhausted possible administrative remedies before they filed their case.

The law firm representing J.K. did not return multiple calls seeking comment.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Highland School Board authorizes $23,000 settlement in bullying lawsuit."