Assistant principal who reported student’s sexual assault sues Kansas school district
An assistant principal says she faced discrimination and harassment after she reported a student had been sexually assaulted in a stairwell at a Kansas City, Kansas, middle school.
The girl reported the March 2019 assault to Central Middle School assistant principal Cassandra Kincaid, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court.
Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools spokesman Edwin Birch reached by The Star Wednesday said that the district is prohibited from responding to inquiries regarding incidents that are in litigation.
The lawsuit said Kincaid went to the director of student services for guidance on how to proceed because the accused student was in special education.
The principal, Frederick Skretta, according to the lawsuit, was not in the building at the time Kincaid received the report.
The next day, Skretta appeared angry and questioned why Kincaid reported the incident to the director of student services, court documents alleged.
On March 26, 2019, Skretta announced he was reducing the male student’s suspension, but it was reinstated later that day after the director of student services intervened. According to the lawsuit, Kincaid was told not to attend the male student’s hearing even though she was responsible for handling the suspension.
Three days later, Kincaid received a formal reprimand for the handling of the girl’s sexual assault report. When she asked Skretta what policy had been violated, Skretta “admitted none,” the lawsuit said.
The girl approached Kincaid in May 2019 and reported that the male student had told her she should kill herself. The girl had been upset and making suicidal comments, the lawsuit said, and was taken to a crisis center by her parents.
When Kincaid pointed out that the male student did not have a behavioral improvement plan in place, Skretta told her to “leave it alone,” court documents said.
Kincaid said she was excluded from meetings and communications, received unfounded reprimands and was passed over for a promotion into the fall 2020 semester. She made several complaints, the lawsuit said, and met with district administrators about Skretta’s conduct, but nothing was done.
The lawsuit alleges the school district violated Kincaid’s rights under Title IX by engaging in retaliation and gender harassment.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
