Staff members announce teen's pregnancy -- at school assemby: suit

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A 15-year-old New Mexico teen was kicked out of school then publicly humiliated all because she was pregnant, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Court papers filed in US District Court by the ACLU on behalf of Shantelle Hicks, who is in the eighth grade at Wingate Elementary School in McKinley, N.M., said when school officials found out she was pregnant, they first booted her out of school.

Because the school, which brags on its website that it provides "SUCCESS FOR ALL of our students" receives public funding, discriminating against a pregnant student is illegal.

Four days later, after the ACLU of New Mexico sent the school a letter, she was allowed back in — but not exactly welcomed with open arms, according to the suit.

She said she walked into a school assembly where the school director and another staff member allegedly forced her to stand up and announce that she was pregnant.

"It was so embarrassing to have all the other kids staring at me as I walked into the gymnasium," said Hicks in a statement. "I didn't want the whole school to know I was pregnant because it's not their business, and it wasn't right for my teachers to single me out."

School officials reportedly said they didn't want to set a bad example for other students.

The ACLU named the school officials who singled her out and the school district in the suit.

It's seeking damages and declaratory relief of the violations of Hicks' constitutional rights, according to their press release.

In a statement released to KOAT-TV, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which runs the school, acknowledged the lawsuit but said "we are unable to comment as to the allegations, since the matter is in litigation.

They insisted, however, that "the Department strives to protect the rights of students it serves."

With News Wire Services

View the original article here