Local schools sued over bullying

Parent alleges failure to protect son

NORWALK — The mother of a former Nathan Hale Middle School student is suing the city and school board on behalf of her son, alleging they all failed to protect the child from bullying.

The lawsuit, filed on April 5 in state Superior Court in Stamford, claims the child was bullied so severely that he had to be hospitalized in 2018 due to the injuries he suffered.

“As a result of the Defendant’s negligence the plaintiff has been caused to suffer extreme emotional distress and incur medical bills and expenses and may in the future,” the lawsuit states.

Brenda Wilcox Williams, the chief communications office for Norwalk Public Schools, said in Friday that the district is aware of the lawsuit, but declined to comment on the allegations in the complaint, citing the pending litigation.

The lawsuit includes few details about the alleged bullying. The complaint claims the bullying began as far back as 2016 and continued into the fall of 2018, but does not describe the nature of the injuries the child sustained.

The complaint claims the city “negligently failed to supervise its agents to see that they promulgated and/or enforced appropriate rules, regulations, policies, protocols, standards, guidelines, and procedures pertaining to bullying.”

City spokesperson Josh Morgan did not respond to requests for comment.

In addition to the naming the city and the school board as defendants, the lawsuit accuses an individual it identifies as having been principal of Nathan Hale during the relevant time period.

However, Wilcox Williams said the named person never worked at that school.

The lawsuit is seeking $15,000 in monetary damages.