School 'forced girl, 15, to stand up in assembly as staff announced that she was pregnant'

School 'forced girl, 15, to stand up in assembly as staff announced that she was pregnant'

- Teenager seeking punitive damages over claims she was humiliated in front of her entire school
- Schoolgirl claims she was kicked out because staff said she was a 'bad example' to other students

By Tom Gardner
UPDATED: 09:13 EST, 8 March 2012


A teenager is suing her school claiming staff humiliated her by publicly announcing she was pregnant to employees and students during an assembly.

Shantelle Hicks, from Gallup, New Mexico, who was 15 at the time, says she was told to stand up when the news was broken to classmates.

She also alleges she was forced to leave Wingate Elementary School because officials said she would be a ‘bad example’ to other students.

The 16-year-old - who gave birth to her daughter last month - is seeking punitive damages, alleging the school violated her constitutional rights.



Proud mum: Shantelle Hicks is seeking damages after claiming she was humiliated when her pregnancy was announced to her entire school


She has launched a lawsuit with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The teenager said: ‘It was so embarrassing to have all the other kids staring at me as I walked into the gymnasium.

‘I didn’t want the whole school to know I was pregnant because it’s not their business, and it wasn’t right for my teachers to single me out.’

Wingate Elementary is a public boarding school for Native American children from kindergarten through to 8th grade.

According to the complaint, school officials kicked her out of school after learning of her pregnancy.

But readmitted her four days later when the ACLU of New Mexico informed the school that it was illegal to deny a student access to education for being pregnant.



Kicked out: The lawsuit alleges Shantelle Hicks, who gave birth to her daughter last month, was also thrown out of the school because she would be a 'bad example' to other students


However, two weeks later, a school counsellor and the director of the middle school, forced the teen to stand before the middle school assembly and announced her condition - allegedly before anyone but her sister knew.

According to the suit, school officials told the teenager that she would be a ‘bad example’ to other students, and requested she attend another school, a Washington Post local report states.

Barry Klopfer, a lawyer acting for ACLU of New Mexico, told the Indian Country Today Community Network: ‘It is outrageous that educators would subject a young woman in their care to such cruelty.’

The girl’s mother, Vicky Hicks, says her daughter’s public humiliation was wrong.

She said: ‘Students shouldn’t be treated differently because they’re pregnant.

‘They specifically said Shantelle Hicks is pregnant. Well, they exploited her pregnancy in front of hundreds of students - mid school students - also faculty. I would like an apology.

'So far we haven’t got an apology for what they did to my daughter. Number one for just kicking her out and saying no, she’s not allowed back to school.

'They’re going to say they didn’t kick her out, but I know they did due to her being pregnant.’

The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday against the schoool, a teacher and the school’s Bureau of Indian Affairs counsellor - all of whom are federal employees - seeks punitive damages.

It also seeks a declaratory relief for violation of constitutional rights to equal protection and of the Title IX prohibition against sex and pregnancy discrimination in education.

The school denies the allegations.