ST. LOUIS — A former Compton Drew Middle School student has sued the St. Louis City Public School District and the school’s principal, alleging officials failed to respond to threats of violence before a group of students assaulted her in 2021, then suspended her without notice or a chance to respond.
Madison Johnson filed the complaint Oct. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Johnson alleges that, in October 2021, when she was 13 and in eighth grade, a fellow student and the student’s group of friends harassed her, including through social media posts threatening to fight her.
The complaint says one student directed gender-based slurs at Johnson and sent her messages saying she wanted to fight.
On Oct. 13, the day before the alleged assault, Johnson went to the principal’s office and reported the threats to Susan Reid, then the school’s principal, according to the complaint.
Johnson told Reid she was scared and believed the group would attack her at school, and gave her a statement describing posts and threats about a fight after school, the filing says.
The complaint alleges other students also provided statements about the threats.
The complaint says Reid took no action in response. It alleges she did not investigate the threats or social media posts, speak with the students or their parents, separate Johnson from the group, increase supervision, create a safety plan, notify Johnson’s mother or inform the district’s Title IX coordinator or school resource officer.
The next day, Oct. 14, 2021, the student Johnson had identified and two other students confronted her in the school gymnasium, according to the complaint.
The three students allegedly slapped and punched her, pulled her hair, knocked her to the ground and dragged her across the gym floor on her knees.
A district teacher was present and watched the assault but did not intervene or call for help, the filing alleges.
The complaint says the three students who attacked Johnson were the same students she had identified to Reid the previous day. It also alleges that neither Reid nor anyone else from the district contacted Johnson’s mother to tell her about the assault.
After reporting the bullying and threats and being attacked, Johnson was suspended for two days, the complaint says.
It alleges the school did not tell Johnson or her mother what charges she faced, explain the evidence or give her an opportunity to present her account before imposing the suspension.
The complaint further says Reid did not discuss the suspension with Johnson’s mother and the district provided no written notice or documentation explaining it.
Johnson alleges she did not feel safe returning to Compton Drew and transferred to another school.
She says she sustained injuries to her neck, back and knees and suffered emotional distress and missed educational opportunities.
The lawsuit brings claims under Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal funds; a federal civil rights law; and Missouri common law.
It alleges the harassment was based on Johnson’s sex and that the district, through Reid and other employees, knew of the threats but failed to take corrective action before the assault.
The complaint also alleges the district had policies or customs of failing to investigate reports of threats and harassment, discouraging or prohibiting teachers from intervening in student fights and suspending students without required process.
It further claims the district failed to train and supervise principals, teachers and staff on responding to harassment, intervening in student violence and suspension procedures.
Among other claims, Johnson alleges Reid and the district violated her right to procedural due process by suspending her without notice or a hearing.
The filing says Johnson had a protected interest in a free public education and alleges the suspension deprived her of two days of instruction.
The complaint asks the court to award compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. She is represented by Benjamin P. Kates and J.C. Pleban of Pleban & Associates Law.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, case number: 4:26-cv-01693
