Copyright inquisitr
Something is seriously wrong when your child’s biggest fear isn’t math but making it through recess alive. That’s what Las Vegas mother Jessica Orta is arguing in a new lawsuit against the Clark County School District (CCSD). She claims that her 10-year-old son has been going through racist attacks for two years. She says that such attacks included slurs, humiliation, and bullying while officials stood by. Her son is being referred to as “I.B.” in court documents. He was allegedly called the n-word, mocked for his skin color, and even told he was too dark-skinned to be allowed into the school. His tormentors were fourth and fifth-graders whose behavior was unchecked by adults who were supposed to protect him. According to the lawsuit filed on September 22, the taunts began in the fall of 2023. A group of boys at O.K. Adcock Elementary singled out I.B. and said stuff like “Your skin is burnt by the sun” and “You shower in Kool-Aid.” Orta says she immediately reported the harassment. But instead of discipline, administrators leaned on “restorative justice” with a group “circle,” in which I.B. was forced to confront the very students who tormented him. And of course, what happened later was worse; the boys physically attacked him in the weeks that followed. It didn’t help that they made him sit face-to-face with the very kids who hated him. In January 2024, it happened again. His school teacher (Darnell Cardines) had labeled I.B. a “victim” of aggression and yet made him meet his bullies for mediation. And guess what? They jumped him again. Black children are particularly targeted and labeled in the public school system by White teachers. A White North Carolina teacher roughed up a Black child. She cursed at him and asked him if his dad beats on his mom. pic.twitter.com/gffrTojqDH — Nikki Tha God (@NikkiThaGodB1) July 20, 2023 When Orta’s complaint went public, school officials treated the incident as ‘mutual combat’ and suspended I.B. along with his attackers. And this year, the racism got worse as one of the same boys blocked the door and told I.B. that he was “too Black to come inside.” The staff didn’t discipline the aggressor again. Instead, they forced I.B. to sit alone during breakfast so as to keep him “safe.” Assistant Principal Matt Landahl said one of the harassers “is Black, too.” So it appears the school tolerated intra-racial bullying. Even after multiple reports, I.B. walked back into class with the kids who tormented him, and no plan was in place. By early 2025, students hurled slurs, laughed at his skin, and humiliated him daily. His grades went down, and his therapist says so did his self-esteem. I.B. used to be a gifted student, but wrote on a self-assessment, “My whole class hates me.” Orta finally took her fight to court. The lawsuit accuses CCSD and eight staff members (including Principal Wendy De Mille, Landahl, and Cardines) of fostering a “racially hostile learning environment.” It seeks damages for negligence, discrimination, and emotional distress. Also, one of the latest incidents happened in February 2025; the school’s idea of a reset was another restorative circle! After that, Orta involved the NAACP and Title IX officials. She says that the district violated both state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The Clark County School District didn’t comment, but did cite its policy on pending litigation. Yet all I.B. needed was humanity.
