A high school English teacher has sued the Commack School District on Long Island for what she claims was its “deliberate indifference” to her complaints of racist harassment.
The lawsuit filed on December 19 describes Andrea Bryan as “a black female of Caribbean descent” and lists several racist incidents that involved other teachers and students.
The lawsuit describes one incident where a white teacher told Bryan that bags of peanuts left on a table were “for whites only.” Bryan’s lawyer said he could not comment on ongoing litigation.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for the school district says all allegations were taken seriously and addressed promptly. The district also says that several allegations in the lawsuit are false, such as Bryan’s assertion that she is the only black teacher in the district.