Milford Pays Family After Student Forced to Miss School Over Ebola Concerns

Last fall, a Meadowside Elementary School student was forced to miss a few weeks of school because of ebola concerns.

And now it’s been revealed that Milford’s insurance carrier agreed to pay the Opayemi family $30,000 after the father, Stephen, threatened to file a federal lawsuit against the city, reports the New Haven Register. As part of the agreement, Milford agreed to pay the student’s tutoring costs for the time she missed school.

The third-grader had travelled to Nigeria in October 2014 with her family for a wedding and upon returning was told by city health and school officials that she could not go back to school until Nov. 3, when the incubation period for the disease would end, the Hartford-Courant reported at that time.

According to the Courant, the girl’s father filed a federal lawsuit against the Milford school system under the Americans with Disabilities Act saying his daughter is being discriminated against.

But on October 30, 2014 the city and Opayemi released a statement saying the issue had been addressed and the litigation had been dropped.

Here is the statement that was released at the time.

Joint Statement from Superintendent of Milford Public Schools, Dr. Elizabeth Feser and Stephen Opayemi Regarding Meadowside School Student

Date: October 30, 2014

The parties issued the following statement:

• A Health Assessment Record, dated October 24, 2014, has been provided to the Milford Public Schools, documenting that the student’s pediatrician has examined her and has certified that she is perfectly healthy and can take part in school activities, without restriction.
• The student has had no contact with any ebola patients and she does not have ebola.
• The student does not present any health risk to any individual.
• The parties are pleased to announce that the student will return to school on October 31.
• The parties wish to announce that the lawsuit in this matter will be settled. Neither party will be making any further comments about the settlement.