The student’s mother, Sher’Ron Hinton, sued Chicago Public Schools in July 2025, alleging school staff acted negligently and failed to protect her daughter from race-based bullying, sexual harassment and sexual abuse. The student has been identified as Jada to protect her privacy.

School incident reports and staff emails described repeated racial slurs, body-shaming and taunts encouraging Jada to kill herself. In one report, she said another student touched her in places where she did not want to be touched. She told school employees four times during fifth grade that she was having suicidal thoughts.

Jada’s mother learned of the severity of the situation after her daughter came home in October 2024 and said a student had used a racial slur against her. CPS’s Office of Student Protection later substantiated that Jada had been subjected to racial bullying; the students involved received in-school suspensions.

Hinton said in a 2025 interview that her daughter confirmed the incidents described in the school records. Jada later took time away from school for intensive mental health treatment, her mother said. Hinton transferred Jada and her four siblings from Wildwood after the 2024-25 school year. She declined to comment Thursday.

CPS officials did not immediately comment on the settlement. In 2025, the district defended Wildwood’s handling of incidents involving middle school students, saying school leaders had monitored and supported those involved over two years. The district also said school records might not capture all of its efforts or communications with the family.

Some parents of students accused by Jada said their children told them the accusations were false. The settlement vote comes more than a year after reporting brought the school’s handling of the case to public attention.