A six-year-old Colorado boy was suspended for sexual harassment after reciting a song lyric to a female classmate. D’Avonte Meadows was suspended for three days from Sable Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado, after reciting the song lyric “I’m sexy and I know it” from rap group LMFAO’s song of the same name.
D’Avonte’s mother, Stephanie, is upset by this decision and is worried about how this will make people view her child. “I’m just, I’m floored,” she said to KMGH-TV. “They’re going to look at him like he’s a pervert. And it’s like, that’s not fair to him.”
Aurora public schools released a statement saying they could not comment on the matter in detail. “We have policies and protocol in place to prevent any disruption to the learning environment,” said the statement. “Due to privacy laws, we are unable to discuss appropriate disciplinary consequences about a specific student.”
According to the KMGH-TV report, the boy has had disciplinary issues before, including saying the same line to the same classmate. He came to the school in January as a special needs student.
In the statement from the school board, they said their policy includes any unwelcome sexual advance, regardless of age. However, sexual harassment is a serious charge, especially for a six year old. The song itself is very upbeat and catchy, so it’s understandable how it would appeal to a first grader who probably doesn’t even know what “sexy” means.
This is the second incident in less than a month concerning harsh discipline on a young black child. Last month, Salecia Johnson, also 6, made headlines when she was handcuffed for throwing a tantrum at her elementary school in Milledgeville, Georgia. Both Salecia and D’Avonte are victims of strict no-tolerance discipline rules in their schools.
Craig Silverman, a Denver-area attorney, called the effectiveness of these policies into question. “Sometimes when you go to a zero-tolerance policy, you end up with a zero-sense policy,” said Silverman.
