A parent is suing a Methodist school in Butler and others contending that the school violated her two children's civil rights while they were enrolled there from 2017 to 2019.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 9 against Butler Wesleyan Academy on Protzman Road in federal court by a person identified only as Gail S., the parent of the two students. The lawsuit also names several defendants connected to the private school.

According to Butler Eagle reports in early August, the school announced that it would not open for the 2020-21 school year, but that it hoped to open the following year.

The lawsuit claims that during the school years of 2017-18 and 2018-19, teachers and students on several occasions told Gail's two children that they hated them, asked them if they were Black, told them they didn't belong there and called them “Black trash,” according to the suit. The two children are identified in the lawsuit as being of East Indian and Jewish ancestry.

As a result of these alleged racially charged attacks, the children's mother claims their civil rights were violated and their educational experiences were damaged.

The school couldn't be reached for comment, and it does not have a listed lawyer, according to court documents.

The lawsuit also named Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connections, which is a Methodist denomination that is affiliated with two campgrounds; 16 Christian schools, including the Butler school; and many churches throughout the region. The church is based out of Ohio.

Along with the institutions, the lawsuit names the Rev. Paul Fish, pastor and chairman of the school's board; Teddy Zeigler, the school's principal and a board member; Sally Zeigler, the school's administrator and board member; Kimberly Fish, the school's treasurer; and board members Dennis Ballock, Dave Patterson and Curt Field.

The suit claims that on multiple occasions, teachers and students, along with the Zeiglers and the Fishes, referred to the school's only two non-white students as Black “in a way that was intended to embarrass, degrade and/or humiliate the plaintiffs for not being 'White.'”

It is alleged that the two couples, teachers and students also “conducted conversations about the ethnicity of the plaintiffs in a derogatory manner and repeated racial slurs” to the two students, according to the lawsuit.

When Gail S. confronted the school board, it responded that the comments “were harmless and that teachers and students at (the school) were merely trying to figure out 'what [the plaintiffs] were' if they were not 'Black.'”

The lawsuit concludes that the children of Gail S. were treated less favorably than the white students in the school due to race and ethnicity because the white students “were not subjected to any harassment based on race or ethnicity.”

After Gail S. brought her concerns to the board, she claims the school's authorities began to retaliate against her children. The lawsuit claims the children, who were honor students, were described as being “disrespectful” and “disobedient,” even though their behavior was no different from the other students.

This alleged retaliation increased after other children allegedly made racially hostile comments to Gail S.'s children. When Gail S. complained to the school, the Fishes began to compile a fabricated list of complaints against Gail S.'s children, including things like “not playing with other children at recess and asking a question about the school's security cameras,” according to the lawsuit.

In 2019, the school board held a private meeting, according to the suit, during which it decided to indefinitely suspend the plaintiff's two students. The plaintiff claims that this decision was made without any prior warnings and concludes that the decision was made because of their race or out of revenge for complaining about the alleged discrimination and racist remarks.

The suit claims the suspension violated the school's handbook since Gail S. was never given any written or verbal notice outlining an offense that would lead to the suspension. She also wasn't given suggestions on how to correct the issue before suspension.

When Gail S. asked for an explanation, the Rev. Paul Fish and Teddy Zeigler allegedly said they were not “comfortable” providing her with this information. After the suspension was put in place, the plaintiff claims that she was never given a proper refund of the tuition already paid.

The lawsuit claims several violations of Section I of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and demands a jury trial.

According to earlier reports, the school decided to close for a number of reasons.

Sally Zeigler, who with her husband, Teddy, have been the school's administrators and teachers since 1998, previously told the Eagle that a combination of circumstances unrelated to COVID-19 led to the academy's closing.

Zeigler said she and her husband are leaving because they are pastors at a church in Lower Burrell, and the school couldn't find replacements. Also, only seven students were enrolled for the fall semester, she said.

The Zeiglers could not be reached for comment.