Bill Gates-Funded School Faces New Bullying Claim Connected to Suicide Attempt
Bill Gates-Funded School New Bullying Claims Tied to Student's Suicide Attempt
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10:33 AM PT -- Attorney Ben Meiselas, who is representing the first family, tells us, "What has been most jarring is the utter lack of accountability of the so-called Green Dot School District. As more and more victims at the School reach out to our office it has become obvious that there are systemic issues where the School has protected the bullies and abusers instead of the victims."
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Meiselas continues, "This is not acceptable and we will ensure justice is served for all victims."
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9:37 AM PT -- A rep for Green Dot tells TMZ while they have not yet received any litigation, they take seriously the safety of all of their students and quickly address bullying of any kind on school campuses. The rep also shared a section of their anti-harassment and bullying policy with us.
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The policy reads, "The school will treat allegations of harassment seriously and will review and investigate such allegations in a prompt, confidential and thorough manner."
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"This policy is inclusive of instances that occur on any area of the school campus, at school-sponsored events and activities, regardless of location, through school-owned technology, and through other electronic means."
The L.A. school funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is about to face new claims of bullying -- including one incident involving a 14-year-old trying to kill herself.
Sources tell TMZ ... there is a new lawsuit about to be filed by the same lawyers at Geragos & Geragos who filed the first suit against the Animo Westside Charter Middle School. As TMZ first showed you ... that initial suit surrounds this video of one student choking another, whose parents claim he suffered permanent brain damage in the incident.
We're told the forthcoming suit documents the alleged bullying experienced by a now-14-year-old girl, who's claiming she too was mercilessly bullied last year on the campus ... and the school failed to stop it.
Our sources say the girl is claiming to have suffered both physical and verbal abuse from multiple students, with one girl leading the pack. We're told it got so bad, the alleged victim started cutting herself ... and months later, attempted suicide.
She had to be hospitalized on a psychiatric hold as a result. Her family is blaming the school as well as Green Dot -- the organization that operates the school.
Bill and Melinda Gates are not being sued, and neither is their foundation ... which has donated more than $7 million to Green Dot.
We're told the girl's family believes there is video of at least some of the bullying incidents she allegedly endured -- and their attorneys are working on getting their hands on it.
Our sources also say since we broke the story about the brain-damaged student ... several other parents have contacted attorneys with similar complaints about severe bullying at Animo Westside.
Originally Published -- 1:00 AM PT
