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School sued for $1.7 million over ‘excessive’ spanking of kindergartner

By Fran Jeffries
Sept 3, 2013

The parents of a kindergartner in Morgan County, Tenn., have filed a $1.7 million lawsuit claiming a school administrator used excessive force when she paddled the boy.

The lawsuit claims that Sunbright Elementary School principal Elizabeth Boyd paddled Lukas Williams eight times for allegedly throwing crayons and rocks, according to a report in The Daily Caller.

Parents Sandra Hall and Jason Williams say Lukas, who was five at the time, suffered deep bruising and inflammation as a result of the spankings. He also was so traumatized that he didn’t want to return to school, his parents claimed. The spankings occurred at the beginning of the school year in 2012, according to The Daily Caller. The parents now home-school the boy, according to the report. They are suing the principal, the school and the Morgan County, according to the report.

The principal was suspended as a result of the incident and a school district investigation concluded that her actions were excessive.

ExploreRead more about the story here.

About the Author

Fran Jeffries is a Newsletter Producer. She joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2005 as an Education Editor. She worked as a Breaking News Editor and Social Media Producer before joining the Newsletter team.

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