A nonbinary student is suing their Michigan school district in federal court for allegedly ignoring multiple instances of harassment and assault by their classmates.

The teenager filed their complaint late last month in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, naming Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS), several employees of Loy Norrix High School, and three fellow students as defendants.

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According to the lawsuit, the teen, referred to in court filings as Jane Doe, “was the victim of sex- and gender-based harassment, assault, and battery at the hands of other students” at Loy Norrix High.

The then-14-year-old Doe had allegedly been targeted by other students for their gender non-conforming appearance and nonbinary identity prior to April 2023. But the bullying and harassment escalated significantly beginning on April 6, 2023, when several students “made hateful remarks about Jane Doe’s appearance and perceived gender” in a Snapchat conversation.

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Doe claims school employees did nothing when they reported the harassment.

The following day, Doe again reported the bullying to a school security guard, who told Doe to “mind her own business,” according to the complaint. Immediately following the interaction with the security guard, Doe claims several students, including those named as defendants, trapped them in a locker room and filmed a video of them changing for gym class. The lawsuit alleges that one student shared the video of Doe “undressing down to her bra” with other students, and that school officials failed to suppress the video despite having allegedly seen it.   

According to the complaint, the “Ringleader” in the locker room incident was not punished in any way, and later the same day, assaulted Doe along with four other students in a school bathroom, while one student again recorded video. A male security guard who intervened in the assault allegedly “dragged Jane Doe out of the bathroom by her hood and pushed her down the hallway to the main office.”

Both Doe’s mother and the Ringleader’s mother arrived at the school later that day. According to the complaint, the Ringleader’s mother brought several other family members with her. The lawsuit alleges that the school failed to keep the two parties apart, leading to yet another alleged assault on Jane Doe by the Ringleader and her family, which was also caught on camera.

The complaint alleges that during the assaults, Doe “was punched, kicked, and subjected to potentially lethal blows” and “suffered serious physical, mental, and emotional anguish because of the harassment and attacks which KPS failed to protect her from.”

However, the school allegedly suspended Doe for 10 days. It’s unclear whether the Ringleader or any other student received similar disciplinary action.

Doe and their mother later requested a formal Title IX investigation into the sex- and gender-based harassment, bullying, and assaults, naming Loy Norrix and assistant principals Alexander Hill and Andrew Muysenberg, who are also named as defendants in the lawsuit. Doe and her mother claim the district categorically failed to investigate the school and its assistant principals. The district’s preliminary report in its Title IX investigation “failed to adequately address crucial facts in the case, including the video footage from the locker room” and “the gender-based nature of the harassment and attacks,” according to the complaint.

In the two years since Doe and her mother filed their Title IX complaint, “the District has made no corrections to its findings of fact, has not completed the investigation, nor has the District provided Doe with a timeline for completion,” the lawsuit alleges.

“As a result of the woefully deficient findings of fact,” the complaint states, “Jane Doe feels that, once again, the adults and system meant to protect her are failing her, and she feels that she has no choice but to move forward with this lawsuit to help ensure that both she and other KPS students like her are adequately protected from harm.”

The lawsuit accuses KPS and its employees of violating Doe’s right to an educational environment free of sex- and gender-based hostility under Title IX and of violating the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, among other counts.

According to local CBS affiliate WWMT, a KPS spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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