9-Year-Old Forced To Eat From Garbage At Lorain Elementary School, Lawsuit Says

LORAIN, OH — Lorain Schools are investigating allegations that a staffer made an elementary school student eat food pulled out of a garbage can.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio, a 9-year-old student at Palm Elementary School was eating waffles for lunch in the school cafeteria on Nov. 21. After a few bites, the complaint said, she decided she didn't like the waffles and wanted a different meal. She threw away her remaining waffles.

A staffer saw her throw away the waffles, the complaint said, and ordered the 9-year-old to go get a paper towel and retrieve the waffles from the garbage. The staffer then ordered the 9-year-old to eat her garbage-retrieved waffles, the complaint said.

Other students in the cafeteria laughed at the 9-year-old as she was forced to eat the waffles under staff supervision, the complaint said.

"It's really a sad incident occurring in one of our schools here in Northeast Ohio. It's disgraceful and shameful that any child would have to go through that in a place where they're supposed to be able to trust the adults," said Jared S. Klebanow, attorney for the family.

Klebanow said the girl has needed therapy since the incident.

"She's still suffering from the incident. She's afraid to eat lunch at school. She's nervous about attending. You hope she'll be able to fully recover emotionally and mentally but you have to take it day by day," he told Patch.

The district confirmed it was looking into the accusations and has placed any staffers involved in the incident on paid administrative leave, WKYC reported. Lorain Schools said they could not offer further comment on an ongoing investigation.

Klebanow said the main purpose of the family's lawsuit is to prevent any similar incidents from occurring in the future and protecting students and the Lorain Schools.

A Lorain City Schools spokesperson did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.