NJ teacher forced 7-year-old student to eat lunch outside in the depths of winter: lawsuit
By Dean Balsamini,
13 hours ago
A teacher forced a 7-year-old New Jersey boy to eat his lunch outside in the February cold as punishment, according to a shocking lawsuit.
The second-grader at Belleville Public School 4 spent his lunch period in the parking lot after he was accused of mocking his teacher, his family said in the Essex County Superior Court complaint.
The second-grader at Belleville Public School 4 spent his lunch period in the parking lot during a cold February day. google
But the boy was merely repeating what his teacher was saying, not mocking, his family insisted.
And staffers “constantly reprimanded” him the amount of time he took in the bathroom, despite the school knowing he suffered from chronic constipation, the family claimed.
The “severe and pervasive bullying, harassment and intimidation” left the boy with “substantial emotional and psychological harm,” said the family, which is not identified in the legal filing.
When the parents reported the “extreme” punishment, their concerns fell on deaf ears, and the harassment and bullying intensified, they contended. Komuso & Colorsandia – stock.adobe.com
The boy was a target because of his Hispanic heritage, and the digestion issues, his parents said in court papers.
After his parents asked about the draconian lunchtime punishment, teachers retaliated by giving the boy bad grades, his family said.
“To this date there has been no explanation of the grades change,” the family said in legal papers. “It was a retaliation for raising the abusive conduct in the school and for raising the retaliation against her child.”
The lawsuit — which seeks unspecified damages — alleges the school, the teacher, the township and the Belleville Board of Education contributed to the “institutional” abuse. The name of the accused educator is redacted in the suit.
Neither the attorney for the family nor the Belleville Schools superintendent returned messages.
For the latest metro stories, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/metro/
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
