Beaumont Unified School District reached a settlement of $60,000 on March 14, after the family of a 17-year-old diagnosed with Trisomy Disorder claimed she was denied the ability to join the cheerleading team.
Trisomy is when someone is born with an additional chromosome.
The suit, against Beaumont Unified School District, was filed in federal court. Almost a year later the family filed a second lawsuit in state court against Beaumont Unified School District and its employees.
Since July 2015, the student has been denied the ability to participate on her school’s cheerleading team and has been denied reasonable accommodations to facilitate her participation, initially due to her disability, according to the complaint.
The school district claimed that the girl is not a “qualified individual” with a disability because, with or without reasonable modifications or accommodations, she could not meet essential eligibility requirements for participation in the cheerleading program at Beaumont High School.
The school district’s request for summary judgment was not successful.
The student says that after she protested she was allowed to join the team, but she faced discrimination, and was prohibited from cheering at certain games and from participating in activities other cheerleaders were invited to. She wasn’t given the proper cheer uniform and was provided with items different from the rest of the cheer team, she alleged in the lawsuit.
The school failed to provide an aide who could assist the student to partake in all cheer related activities, according to the complaint. In 2004 Beaumont Unified School District had found the student eligible for special education. The school had been aware of the girl’s diagnoses since 2004.
The student alleges she faced bullying from teammates, district agents, coaching staff and athletic trainers.
The school district has not provided appropriate accommodations since 2015 up until present day, according to the complaint. The lawsuit claimed that each day the district denied her access to extracurricular activities is considered a separate incident under Unruh Civil Rights Act and the student is entitled to no less than $4,000 per incident (at least 1,400 days).
This is the second time the parents have sued the school district and won a settlement.
The settlement is to be paid as follows: $40,000 in attorney’s fees, $800 in medical expenses, $1,642 in litigation costs, and $17,557.50 to the parents.
The Community Law Firm represented the plaintiff. Carpenter Rothans & Dumont represented the school district and its employees.
Judge O.G. Magno presided.
Case Number: RIC2001368
Read the complaint here.
Read the school district’s answer here.
