More Trouble For Pasco School District; 2 Lawsuits Filed

PASCO COUNTY, FL – The Pasco County School District just can’t get a break.

In addition to an upcoming vote on a controversial school boundaries proposal, figuring out how to pay for state-mandated armed security and handling fallout after a teacher was arrested for having sex with a student, an AR-15 rifle was discovered on a school campus and a student claimed a school resource officer roughed her up, the school district is now being sued by two families.

One family that has filed suit alleges the school district violated a first-grader’s constitutional rights when his teacher reprimanded him for kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Another is suing because they say their son, who has special needs, was traumatized after being exposed to pornography by older students on school-issued iPads during school hours.

According to court records, parent Eugenia McDowell filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the school district because her 6-year-old son, Kaden, was reprimanded by his teacher at Wiregrass Elementary School for kneeling, placing a hand over his heart and remaining silent while his classmates recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

The incident took place days after a well-publicized demonstration by NFL players who took to one knee in September during the national anthem before the start of the game to protest police brutality.

McDowell learned of her son's actions when she received a message from his teacher:

"I just wanted to let you know that this morning when it was time to do the Pledge of Allegiance, (your son) went down on one knee. I knew where he had seen it but I did tell him that in the classroom we are learning what it means to be a good citizen, we're learning about respecting the United States of America and our country symbols and showing loyalty and patriotism and that we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I know it’s a sensitive issue but I wanted to make you aware. Thanks"

The Pasco County School District permits students to bow out of the Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem with a note from their parents. However, according to Florida Statute, schools are required to inform families of a student’s right not to participate in the pledge. McDowell was never told about that right.

It wasn’t until after the first-grader was reprimanded that the school district advised all Pasco County public schools to allow children to kneel during the pledge and the national anthem, if they wished.

The lawsuit is asking for damages between $15,000 and $75,000.

The school district is also facing a lawsuit filed on April 24 by the parents of an 11-year-old River Ridge Middle School student who say some older students repeatedly showed their son pornographic films on school-issued iPads while in gym class.

According to the lawsuit, when the 11-year-old complained to his gym teacher, he was told not to be a tattletale.

The student’s mother, Jennifer Haag, said her son was traumatized because he had been sexually abused before the Haags adopted him. She maintains the school is liable because the iPads weren’t equipped with proper security and Internet-blocking features and the students weren’t properly supervised while using the iPads in gym class.

The Haags are suing for $15,000.

The school district will not comment on pending litigation.

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