A 12-year-old girl and her grandparents filed a lawsuit last week against the Chicago Board of Education, among others, seeking roughly $500,000 in damages for a Chicago substitute teacher showing Brokeback Mountain in class last year.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court May 11, claims Jessica Turner suffered psychological distress when a substitute teacher, identified in the suit as 'Ms. Buford,' allegedly showed the R-rated movie without parental permission or notification to an eighth-grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last May.
The suit also names the school's principal, Jewel Diaz, who knew of the viewing, according to the suit.
The movie is about a secret love affair between two gay cowboys. The student's grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are the girl's legal guardians, and did not want their granddaughter exposed to the gay-themed film. The grandparents have also previously complained to the school regarding reading materials they deemed inappropriate for their granddaughter.
The suit claims the substitute teacher told students, 'What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class.'
Chicago Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn told Windy City Times that since the case is in litigation, CPS declines to comment.
Ashburn Community Elementary School also declined to comment.