51ºÚÁÏ

Ka’Niesha Robertson filed a lawsuit Tuesday in 51ºÚÁÏ County Circuit Court, accusing the two school districts of conspiring to remove her from her classroom to prevent her from advocating for her students.

Robertson said she was hired through a temporary staffing agency to work in the Hazelwood School District as a long-term substitute in November 2023. She was later hired as a permanent substitute teacher for the 2024-2025 school year.

That’s when things started to go wrong, Robertson claimed in the suit. She said she had several students with special needs and “many,â€� according to the suit, did not receive proper services from the Special School District of 51ºÚÁÏ County.

SSD provides special education services to about 23,000 students, mostly in the 22 public school districts in 51ºÚÁÏ County.

The lawsuit says Hazelwood and SSD were “joint employers� of Robertson.

It does not state which school Robertson worked in, but she’s still as a second-grade teacher at Jamestown Elementary.

Robertson said she advocated for her disabled students throughout the school year.

And in January, Robertson said she stood up for a student during a meeting about their individualized educational plan, or IEP, a legally binding document that outlines what services a disabled student should be provided.

Two days later, Robertson’s school principal issued Robertson a discipline letter, the suit says.

The letter said Hazelwood and SSD were concerned Robert’s comments at the meeting would “lead to serious legal ramifications for all parties involved,� the suit says.

Robertson said she believed the districts were upset because the student’s parents found out about the lack of services provided to their child. The suit does not include the child’s age or disability.

Robertson was told she would be removed from the classroom about a month later.

The school districts reassigned her to a building aide post at another school; a “less desirable� position that offered lower pay, the suit says.

She filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission two days after the reassignment.

The suit says Robertson was “constructively discharged� on March 24.

Robertson, in an interview Thursday with the Post-Dispatch, said she could tell the districts “didn’t want her there,� so she quit.

The ordeal took a significant toll on her family, Robertson said. She’s a single mother of two children.

“It’s been a struggle these past few months with no income coming in,� Robertson said.

She said the school districts ended up adopting the recommendations Robertson made for her student by the end of the school year.

“(The districts) got rid of me for what? Just to do everything I said needed to be done?� Robertson said. “It doesn’t make sense.�

Jennifer Henry, chief communications officer for SSD, said the district cannot discuss pending litigation.

Hazelwood spokesman Darrin Lilly did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Robertson’s lawyer, Ryan Shellert of Kasper Law, did not return a message seeking comment.

Robertson is suing Hazelwood and SSD for retaliation and violating a state statute that bars public employers from disciplining employees for disclosing mismanagement.

She’s seeking $25,000 in damages and compensation for attorney’s fees.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Robertson was fired. She said she resigned after being demoted.(tncms-asset)1aeff188-3c58-4ccf-9c2f-65906de5789a[0](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)8274dc97-e7c8-45b4-8805-58978a986607[1](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)1f54119c-e18c-45be-aa45-4480f8f8a634[2](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)5b7394b0-eb0f-11ef-b0db-9f0a3b3444c2[3](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)7591cc94-914c-11ef-888d-f78585d6d8ce[4](/tncms-asset)