Parents say teacher in Marion County bullied their son, file wrongful death lawsuit

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Two years after a 10-year-old took his own life in Marion County, his parents are suing the district because they say a teacher bullied him.

Louis Johnson’s parents filed a lawsuit against the Marion County School Board on Monday. The wrongful death lawsuit claims that fifth-grade teacher Dawn White bullied Johnson, a Legacy Elementary School student, and recruited other students to bully him.

RELATED: Community around Legacy Elementary grieving after 5th grader commits suicide

According to the lawsuit, White called Johnson “stupid” and said that he “didn’t know anything.”

Johnson’s parents say they reported White’s actions to the school board and the school itself, but they did nothing.

The parents claim that as a result of the school board’s negligence, White caused Johnson to suffer depression and anxiety, which led to the death of the 10-year-old boy.

Shortly after Johnson’s death, his parents went to the school and passed out “Suicide Prevention” flyers, which detail the allegations against White.

In an investigative report from 2023 into White, more than two dozen student witnesses were interviewed about White’s behavior in class, twelve were in the classroom with Johnson.

The students claimed that White would get mad when a student got an answer wrong. They said White was scary and would sometimes make students cry. They also said she would comment about students’ grades in the classroom.

RELATED: MCPS teacher ‘inflicted psychological distress’ on students, report states

The school board didn’t renew White’s contract following the investigation.

As of this report, the law firm hasn’t returned TV20’s request for comment. A school district official said the district doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit names the teacher as Donna White, but school district records and other sources list her name as Dawn White.

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