The parents of a Black fourth grader suspended for having a BB gun visible in his room during a virtual class have sued their son’s Louisiana school district, according to the family’s attorney.
The parents of 9-year-old Ka’Mauri Harrison sued the Jefferson Parish School District for $50,000 for “mental pain, suffering, anguish and embarrassment, humiliation and loss of self-esteem, future counseling and tutoring and lost income,” according to the lawsuit. The family’s attorney said the school district does not have the right to enforce weapons policies at home.
Harrison was suspended from Woodmere Elementary School in September after his 8-year-old brother walked into the bedroom they share during his virtual class and tripped over a BB gun on the floor. Harrison then picked up the BB gun and set it beside him.
At a school board meeting on Sept. 22, Harrison was found “guilty of displaying a facsimile weapon.” He was suspended for six days, and the violation will remain on his permeant public school record. The family’s GoFundMe page also states that Harrison was required to undergo a social work assessment.
According to the boy’s father, Nyron Harrison, the school did not respect Ka’Mauri’s due process rights. “I feel like they were picking, and totally just invading privacy,” he said, adding that his son felt like he had done something wrong after the BB gun became an issue.
The family’s attorney Chelsea Cusimano condemned the actions taken against Harrison, saying: “This is a pre-judgment of a 9-year old that will impact his educational career for the rest of his life.”
“We do not comment on individual student records. Regarding discipline, it is our policy that teachers and administrators may employ reasonable disciplinary and corrective measures to maintain order,” Jefferson Parish Schools told CNN.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is investigating the incident and believes the students have a constitutional right to appeal the school’s decision.
Five children in the Harrison family attend Jefferson Parish schools. The GoFundMe states that the family would like to take Ka’Mauri out of the district, but “does not have the means to do so.”
