23-05-2025
A 6-Year-Old Faced Slurs and Violence. Then She Got Punished.
A 6-year-old Black girl was called a monkey, the N-word, and physically assaulted by her classmates at Ashford Park Elementary School in DeKalb County, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed earlier this year.
The lawsuit alleges an incident where she dodged a desk thrown at her by another student but was later given a behavioral demerit by the teacher for moving out of her seat during class.
Albenis Treminio and Cathea Simelton-Treminio, the parents of the DeKalb County first-grader, say teachers and administrators at their daughter's school purposefully turned a blind eye while their 6-year-old was targeted by bullies in her class.
Claiming the district failed to act since the bullying and racial harassment began in September 2023, now Simelton-Treminio is suing the DeKalb County School District on behalf of her daughter for alleged civil rights violations. In the court filing, Simelton-Treminio alleges the district refused to discipline students who repeatedly verbally and physically harassed her child. Simelton-Treminio says she requested a safety plan for her daughter once the bullying began, but the school never implemented one.
'This is systemic, it is ongoing, and we weren't the first family to experience these issues,' Simelton-Treminio told WSBTV earlier this week.
A spokesperson for the school district said the following in an email statement to Capital B Atlanta:
'The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students and employees. District and school leaders actively promote a culture of professionalism and respect, aiming to create and maintain learning environments free from bullying, threats, or intimidation for all students, staff, and families.
It is the longstanding practice of DCSD not to comment on potential or pending litigation.'
The family lives in Brookhaven, where the median household income is $167,266, more than double DeKalb County's median income. Although the school district as a whole is 55% Black, Ashford Park Elementary is 11% Black, which is in line with Brookhaven's 12% Black population.
Tense racial relations are not new in DeKalb schools. The district was under judicial oversight for more than 20 years, ending in 1996 when a federal district court judge decided it had adequately desegregated its schools.
Since first lodging her complaints with the school, Simelton-Treminio said she has received a number of threatening anonymous emails suggesting her family move. She said she has also been barred from entering the school building.
In addition to asking for damages and attorney fees, Simelton-Treminio is asking the court to issue an injunction on her ban from the school building so she can observe her daughter in the classroom.
The law firm representing Simelton-Treminio did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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