Teen sues BIA school in New Mexico for exposing pregnancy

Wednesday, March 7, 2012  

An Indian teenager is suing a Bureau of Indian Affairs school in New Mexico after being kicked out then publicly humiliated for being pregnant.

Shantelle Hicks, 15, who recently gave birth to a girl, initially informed a dormitory manager at the Wingate Elementary School that she was pregnant. She was then told she couldn't live in the student dorm, her lawsuit states.

Hicks and her mother met with school administrators the following day and was told to leave school. Only after contacting the American Civil Liberties Union did the school agree to allow Hicks to return.

But then Hicks was forced to attend an assembly, where other students were told that she was pregnant. “I didn’t want the whole school to know I was pregnant because it’s not their business, and it wasn’t right for my teachers to single me out," she said in a press release.

Hicks said she was harassed by other students after he pregnancy was revealed.

Get the Story:
Suit: School Shamed Pregnant Student (The Albuquerque Journal 3/7)
ACLU: Pregnant NM teen humiliated at Indian school (AP 3/6)