Ursuline Faces New $1 Million Lawsuit Over Expulsion Of Student

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Ursuline School is again being sued by a student who claims the school overstepped its authority when she was expelled for off-campus conduct.

The lawsuit, filed last month, accuses the private school of improperly excluding the student for her part in a melee that occurred at the Westchester Mall during the previous school year. In court documents, the 15-year-old student says she was only punished after a video of the incident went viral.

The sophomore is asking a judge to reverse the school’s decision and award her $1 million in damages. The judge has, in fact, issued a temporary order allowing the teenager to continue attending the all-girls, Catholic school for the time being.

The case closely mirrors a similar $1 million lawsuit filed against Ursuline last year after a student was expelled for behavior she claims predated her time as a student at the school. In both lawsuits, the students said they were targeted by administrators after being first bullied by classmates.

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As in the earlier case, the student in the latest lawsuit said that social media posts brought to the attention of administrators by the very students who were bullying her, ultimately led to her being kicked out of school.

In its response to both court actions, Ursuline has insisted that a private institution's right to exclude a student for unsavory off-campus behavior is protected by established legal precedent.

"Ursuline is an independent, private, not-for-profit, Roman Catholic college preparatory school for girls," the school said in court filings, arguing that it was well within its authority to expel the student for fighting in public. "Unlike attending a public school, attending Ursuline is a privilege, not a right. Ursuline demands and expects that its faculty, students and parents all adhere to its policies, procedures and protocols to prepare its young women to be women of faith and integrity, lifelong learners and wise, responsible, globally-minded leaders by cultivating lifelong learning, spiritual growth, integrity, respect for all and dedication to Serviam — 'I will serve.'"

The student, identified only as "K.M." in court documents, claims that the video that resulted in her expulsion was the culmination of a long-running campaign of social media bullying directed against her. This cyber-bullying, her lawyers say, was not only routinely ignored by school administrators, but tacitly encouraged.

"K.M. was regularly subjected to harassment and bullying by a group of children when a Snapchat conversation involving K.M. and two other individuals grew into a thread which ultimately encompassed over 30 teenagers from various parochial (Iona, Stepinac and Ursuline) and public (White Plains, Valhalla and Westlake) schools," court documents allege. "This Snapchat thread developed into a freefall bullying platform with K.M. as the sole target of comments such as: 'You are ugly,' 'You are anorexic,' 'You are flat-chested,' 'You have no friends,' 'No one likes you,' 'Everyone hates you,' 'You look like a witch,' 'You have a big nose,' and 'Your voice sounds like you have lung cancer.'"

The student's attorney argues that the harassment was in part based on the targeted student's economic background and belittling her father's job as a taxi driver was repeatedly used as fodder for the online harassment.

The lawsuit contends that not only did Ursuline officials fail in their responsibility to protect the student from online bullying but added to the damage by scapegoating her when the predictable outcome played out. According to the allegation in the suit, the altercation at the shopping center followed weeks of online threats of violence directed against the disciplined student.

"For years, Ursuline has exhibited a complete disregard for the devastating effects social media has on the children in its care," the suit alleges. "Instead of educating and safeguarding its students against the psychological harms caused by the likes of Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok, Ursuline has permitted and encouraged its students to utilize various social media platforms on school property without any meaningful oversight."

Both parties will be back in court on Feb. 25.