$50 Million Federal Lawsuit Against Butler Elementary District 53 Alleges Cruel, Unusual Punishment

OAK BROOK, IL — A family in Oak Brook has filed a $50 million federal lawsuit against Butler Elementary District 53. The lawsuit alleges that two boys were subject to cruel and unusual punishment after they were accused of cheating in a 2016 school geography bee, according Chicago Tribune. The boys’ father, Rahul Julka, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois on April 14.

Butler Elementary District 53 previously banned both Julka boys were banned from participating in academic competitions after the school board alleged that their mother, Komal Julka, fraudulently registered as a homeschool provider and paid for answers to the GeoBee questions in advance. The Julka children, then 9 and 11 years old, were withdrawn from the competition by their parents.

Last July, the Julka family filed a civil complaint against Butler Elementary District 53 to challenge the sanctions placed on their children after the school board investigation alleged they had cheated. The suit also hoped to remove documents related to the alleged cheating investigation from their children’s official records. Komal Julka told Chicago Tribune that the lawsuit is more out of principle than anything . She mentioned they have not retained a lawyer for the $50 million lawsuit against District 53, adding, "This is a small community, and a lot of people presume we did something wrong when we didn't.”

The civil case will be heard by DuPage courts on April 25.