An angry Ohio mum has launched a lawsuit against her daughter’s school for making her eat waffles retrieved from a rubbish bin.
The complaint was filed by attorney Jared Klebanow at the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on 8th December on behalf of the schoolgirl’s mother Latasha Williams.
Williams claims that staff at her daughter’s school made her eat waffles she threw in the bin.
The lawsuit says the incident took place in late November in the cafeteria of Palm Elementary School in the city of Lorain in the US state of Ohio.
According to the complaint, the girl sat down with pals at lunchtime and started eating waffles, quickly deciding that she did not like them.
The lawsuit states that the school provides two lunch options every day and the schoolgirl asked to have the other meal.
The school principal told the student that she had to finish what was already on her tray and the girl walked over to the rubbish bin and threw her food away.
Another school worker removed the waffles from the bin and instructed the schoolgirl to fetch a paper towel.
Despite being confused by the request, the girl did what she was told and brought the paper towel back to her table.
The employee told the girl to “go sit down and that she would be required to eat the waffles”, according to the complaint.
The worker then allegedly stood over the student and made her eat the waffles in front of laughing classmates.
The girl said she started feeling sick straight away and told her mother about the incident when she got home.
The lawsuit says the girl suffered a fever and had to see a doctor, and that she has received counselling over the “humiliating actions”.
The family’s attorney Jared Klebanow said: “This isn’t another student trying to convince them to do something silly or to eat something, this is an educator punishing this girl by forcing her to eat garbage.”
The lawsuit also claims the incident was racially motivated because the student is black and the school worker was white.
The complainant is reportedly seeking punitive, exemplary, and compensatory damages from the worker involved and the school authority as well as covering all legal fees.
Lorain City Schools said in a statement that two employees have been put on paid leave over the incident, adding: “While we are unable to comment on an ongoing investigation, we expect to have it completed soon. We will be able to comment at that time.”
