A mother in Chicago has filed a lawsuit alleging that her daughter’s public school system was aware of — yet disregarded — repeated incidents of racist bullying and sexual misconduct endured by her child. Sher’Ron Hinton says her now-13-year-old daughter (referred to as “Jenny” in court documents) was among the very few Black students in her grade levels when she attended Wildwood IB World Magnet School on Chicago’s Northwest Side. 

Hinton reports that the abuse began in 2022, during her daughter’s fifth-grade year, and persisted into seventh grade. The school, according to the complaint, knew about an “escalating campaign of race-based verbal, sexual and physical harassment” by students, yet the misconduct “was reported to, or actually known by” school personnel. 

Among the allegations: the girl was body-shamed, repeatedly called the N-word, and told to harm herself. One example: in November 2022 she wrote “I feel like I’m going to die” on a classroom worksheet, prompting a suicide‐ideation assessment. Later that month she again wrote “I want to die” on another exercise. 

In December 2022 the suit says a fellow student hit and inappropriately touched her. A safety plan was implemented by the school, but Hinton alleges she was not fully informed. She was told only that her daughter would have a daily check-in to ensure a “normal friend dynamic,” while the deeper issue was allegedly not disclosed.

Shortly thereafter, the child was reportedly struck again by a classmate who said “I’m always trying to kill you.” The daughter informed staff; instead of being helped, she says she was reprimanded for “always causing drama.” 

When Hinton complained, school administrators allegedly minimized the harassment as “friendship issues” or “exaggerations.” Meanwhile, students who called her daughter the N-word in 2024 received in-school suspensions — and the girl faced retaliation from peers after reporting them. 

The complaint also names two physical-education teachers: one accused of rubbing his genitals against the girl’s back, and another who allegedly struck her with a clipboard or rolled-up paper. 

The bullying and abuse reportedly lasted for roughly two years and culminated in such a mental health decline that the girl was hospitalized and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “My daughter didn’t just fall through the cracks, she was placed in them,” Hinton said. 

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County circuit court, names Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the school’s principal and assistant principal, and the two named teachers. It seeks at least US$50,000 in damages and asks for systemic reform: such as requiring that parents be notified whenever a child undergoes a suicide‐ideation assessment, and the creation of a separate office to investigate extreme bullying reports.

CPS responded by saying the district is “committed to the safety and well-being of our students,” but noted that it does not comment on pending litigation. 

This case highlights concerns that even in so-called high-performing schools, systems may fail Black students who are in the extreme minority in their classroom environments. According to media investigations, the district’s office for student protections reviews only a fraction of thousands of reports annually, raising questions about capacity and oversight.