Suit claims girl denied use of bathroom

A former Spokane Public Schools parent is suing the district, claiming that staff at a North Side elementary school wouldn’t let her daughter use the bathroom and forced the girl to sit in her own urine.

Virla Spencer, who last year filed a civil rights complaint against the district, is seeking damages for negligence from a March 30, 2005, incident in which her daughter was denied access to the bathroom at Arlington Elementary School, according to a lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court last week.

The suit alleges that when Spencer’s daughter raised her hand and asked to go to the bathroom, she was told by a teacher to remain in her seat.

The girl “could not wait any longer and urinated in her desk and on her clothing in the presence of her teacher and approximately 25 peers,” the court records state.

Immediately following, the school was evacuated for a fire drill and the girl was forced to stand outside in the cold, and in front of other students with her pants wet before her mother was called to bring dry clothing, the records said.

Spencer and her daughter, who relocated to the Tri-Cities, are seeking damages for mental and emotional distress, attorney fees, and medical expenses.

“Because of this incident and the continuing humiliation, taunting and ridicule,” the girl was forced to leave the school district, and now needs counseling, the suit alleges.

This is not the first complaint Spencer has filed against the school district.

Last spring, Spencer sparked a federal investigation into acts of discrimination when she filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Spencer’s complaints included that black grade-school children, including her own, were denied a chance to go to the bathroom while in class while white students were allowed to go, and that her children were called racial slurs and harassed and officials did nothing about it.

According to documents from the Seattle Division of the Office of Human Rights, the case was closed in January.

“We had several complaints last year from parents to the OCR for discrimination and none of them were founded,” said Terren Roloff, Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman.

In the recent suit filed by Spencer and her daughter, no mention was made about Spencer’s daughter being denied access to the restroom based on her race.

Spencer was also banned last year from entering Spokane school buildings, after district officials became concerned over her aggressive behavior and use of graphic language.