In a concerning turn of events, a disheartening message seems to reverberate in Texas schools – standing up for a Black student might cost you your job.
According to WFAA, a lawsuit was filed in Dallas County stating that a counselor was forced to resign after reporting that a teacher allegedly called a special needs student a “dumb n**ger.” The teacher also pulled a chair from under the student and allegedly stepped on him.
The lawsuit was filed by Gabriana Clay-White and she claimed that the incident took place last year on May 18, 2022. Neither the student and teacher involved nor the school where it took place was mentioned in the suit. She filed the paperwork against Grand Prairie Independent School District.
Clay-White was a guidance counselor who was asked to “assist a teacher with a student who had special needs,” according to the filing. She said she asked the student what happened, and the student responded that the teacher “took my chips, and she’s dumb.” The teacher approached the student and asked, “Oh, I’m dumb?” This is when she pulled the chair out from beneath the student and allowed the student to fall.
“The teacher then used [a] racial slur toward the student saying ‘only dumb n**ger in this room is the one with the blue shirt who can’t read.’” The lawsuit states that the student wore a blue shirt that day and suffered from a reading-related learning disability.
The teacher then repeated pulling the chair from under him, which is when Clay-White intervened and took the student out of the classroom. The student then attempted to hit the teacher but missed and fell to the ground. At this point, the teacher approached him and then put her boot on the student’s chest “and pushed down,” according to the lawsuit.
The teacher followed the student and the counselor into the hallway and said, “The only b*tch is your mom.”
Clay-White said she reported the incident to school officials and Child Protective Services the following day. The next day, after filing the report, on May 20, 2022, Clay-White said she was called into human resources to provide a third statement about what happened.
On June 2, 2022, human resources told Clay-White that she violated the ethics code and could resign or get fired. She chose to “resign under duress,” according to the lawsuit. She is seeking damages, including back pay.
In response to the lawsuit, district officials claimed that they were unaware of the lawsuit and that Clay-White resigned from the district on June 3, 2022.
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