{"id":12472,"date":"2025-05-02T02:54:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=12472"},"modified":"2025-05-02T02:54:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:54:02","slug":"parents-sue-teacher-for-driving-son-11-to-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=12472","title":{"rendered":"Parents sue teacher for driving son, 11, to suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Two years after the tragic death of their 11-year-old son, the parents of Louis Johnson III (LJ) have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Marion County School Board in Florida.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"nufpi69f5eb340acb6\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.nufpi69f5eb340acb6 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.nufpi69f5eb340acb6 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.nufpi69f5eb340acb6 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.nufpi69f5eb340acb6 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.nufpi69f5eb340acb6 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1761866\" data-uid=\"07812\">\n<div id=\"mgw1761866_07812\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mgbox card-media\" data-template-type=\"container\">\n<div class=\"mgheader\">\n<p><strong>The grieving parents are alleging that the school failed to protect their child from persistent bullying by a fifth-grade teacher.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-4707c0b592db948eb1e04c2670fcb6ca\" class=\"newsner-4707c0b592db948eb1e04c2670fcb6ca newsner-bluebillywig_instream\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Keep reading to know all the details.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>LJ died by suicide on April 27, 2023. His parents, Tyka Johnson and Louis Johnson Jr., claim in the lawsuit\u2014filed April 21, 2025\u2014that their repeated concerns about the teacher\u2019s treatment of their son were ignored by school officials.<\/p>\n<div id=\"newsner-cec8363039e8ebc0a884061e46092c3b\" class=\"newsner-cec8363039e8ebc0a884061e46092c3b newsner-incide_content_once\"><\/div>\n<p>According to court documents obtained by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/parents-sue-school-board-for-negligence-after-son-11-dies-by-suicide-after-alleged-bullying-from-teacher-11723851\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PEOPLE<\/a>, the Johnsons allege that the teacher, referred to as Donna White (though school records list her as Dawn), relentlessly humiliated LJ in class, calling him \u201cstupid\u201d and mocking him in front of his peers over several months.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also claims White encouraged other students to join in the ridicule, urging them to agree that LJ \u201cdidn\u2019t know anything.\u201d The Johnsons say this ongoing emotional\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/abuse\/\">abuse<\/a>\u00a0contributed to their son\u2019s anxiety, depression, and eventual suicide.<\/p>\n<p>The family is seeking a jury trial, stating in the filing that the school board\u2019s inaction amounted to negligence.<\/p>\n<p>Following LJ\u2019s death, the Johnsons began distributing suicide prevention flyers at the school, which later launched an internal investigation into the teacher\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-168947\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/01092043\/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-10.20.33.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/01092043\/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-10.20.33.png 834w, https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/01092043\/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-10.20.33-768x783.png 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"834\" height=\"850\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Credit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/donate-to-help-louis-lj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GoFundMe<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to the investigation findings, 24 students \u2014 including 12 from White\u2019s own classroom \u2014 came forward, claiming the teacher regularly belittled students, discussed their grades publicly, and in some cases, reduced children to tears. As a result, White\u2019s contract was not renewed.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of LJ\u2019s death, his family also created a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/donate-to-help-louis-lj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0page, which further detailed the impact of the alleged\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/bullying\/\">bullying<\/a>\u00a0and celebrated the boy\u2019s short life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLJ was the youngest of four and so full of potential and promise,\u201d the family wrote. \u201cHe loved the beach, catching crabs, making TikTok recipes, and was a huge advocate for the homeless\u2026 If he saw a homeless person, he immediately said, \u2018Dad, we gotta pray for that person.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The family described him as \u201ca much-loved son, brother, uncle, and friend\u201d whose infectious smile could light up any room.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1761866\" data-uid=\"03e6f\">\n<div id=\"mgw1761866_03e6f\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mgheader\">\n<p>\u201cWe not only want to give LJ the voice he deserves,\u201d the page continued, \u201cbut bring awareness to suicide as a result of adult bullying against children. Such a permanent decision, influenced by a trusted adult, has altered the lives of many.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>They are now asking for support to help cover ongoing financial burdens as they continue to seek justice in LJ\u2019s name.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1761865\" data-uid=\"1460d\">\n<div id=\"mgw1761865_1460d\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mgbox\">\n<div class=\"mgheader\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two years after the tragic death of their 11-year-old son, the parents of Louis Johnson III (LJ) have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Marion County School Board in Florida. The grieving parents are alleging that the school failed to protect their child from persistent bullying by a fifth-grade teacher. Keep reading to know&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Parents sue teacher for driving son, 11, to suicide - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=12472\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parents sue teacher for driving son, 11, to suicide - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two years after the tragic death of their 11-year-old son, the parents of Louis Johnson III (LJ) have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Marion County School Board in Florida. 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