Lawsuit alleges it does

One of the state’s most successful and talented lawyers, Teddy Gordon, just filed a lawsuit against the Jefferson County Public School District (JCPS) that immediately received major coverage in the Courier-Journal under the headline “’Anarchy’ alleged at JCPS middle school.”

Some of the incidents supposedly taking place at the Crosby Middle School as described in the Courier’s article certainly sound very serious.

One child was “left ‘a bloody mess on the floor’” following an attack. Kids were robbed, punched, slapped and pushed down stairs while complaints to administrators went unheeded.

In one case, a parent is seeking another school for her son, but JCPS has denied a request for transfer.

The families suing are also represented by three other lawyers in addition to Gordon. Involvement of so much legal talent further indicates that this seems likely to become a very major case. If even a portion of the serious charges are sustained, the impact on schools in Louisville could be considerable.

Certainly, given that at least one of the lawsuit parents already discovered that even bullying won’t get her child a school transfer adds to concerns about the lack of school choice in Kentucky. How can forcing a bullied child to remain in the same school possibly be in the best interests of education?