Mom Alleges School Employee Made Daughter Eat Waffles Out of Garbage Can

A woman in Ohio has launched a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lorain City School District, saying her daughter was forced to eat out of the garbage can by a school employee.

Cleveland attorney Jared Klebanow filed the complaint on Wednesday on behalf of Latasha Williams, a mother of a Palm Elementary fourth-grader.

Williams has alleged that her daughter was told by a school employee to eat the food she had thrown in the garbage can.

She said her daughter did not like the waffles she was eating in the cafeteria and threw them away. A short period later an employee working in the lunchroom told her to grab a paper towel and pull the waffles out of the garbage can, the mother said.

It is then alleged that the school employee made the student eat them in front of her classmates.

Williams said her daughter told her about the incident and said: "Mommy, my teacher made me eat out of the garbage." Speaking on the aftermath of the alleged incident, William said her daughter no longer behaves the same and has to be forced to go to school.

Williams also said her daughter got sick from eating the food. She said she then lost her job as she had to miss work to take care of her.

Speaking to 19 News, she said: "It literally flipped my whole family upside down. She has changed at home. She doesn't act the same. She doesn't even want to go to school, she is forced."

Klebanow added: "It's humiliating, it's disgraceful, and it's unacceptable. Every citizen, including children, has the right to bodily integrity.

"The child victim had her constitutional rights violated by this educator. This is an educator hired to protect our children, not to degrade them and humiliate them."

Newsweek has reached out to Palm Elementary and Lorain City School District for comment.

Superintendent and CEO Jeff Graham told 19 News he recognized the seriousness of the allegations but added that due to the investigation he was not able to comment.

The Lorain City School District released the following statement: "Lorain City Schools is investigating allegations that staff forced a student to eat food that was retrieved from a cafeteria garbage can at one of our elementary schools.

"District authorities responded in accordance with board policy and past practice by placing any staff member who could potentially be involved in incidents of this serious nature on immediate paid administrative leave, pending an investigation."

The lawsuit seeks an undetermined amount of money, admission of wrongdoing, and a collaborative effort to prevent similar incidents in the future, reported 19 News.