A woman sued Gaston County Schools alleging that the school district illegally removed her children from their school after the family became homeless.
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 26 by a woman who identified herself only as K.L.
According to the lawsuit, K.L. was evicted from her home on Catawba Creek Drive in September 2023, shortly after Duke Energy cut off electricity to her home for around 10 days.
While K.L. was required to vacate the home by Oct. 10, she was unable to find housing. She squatted in the home for eight days, then moved out. She told her child’s school, New Hope Elementary School, that her child would be a car rider during that time, according to court documents.
On Nov. 9, K.L. received a text message from a school social worker at Cramerton Middle School, where her other child attended school.
The lawsuit said that K.L. tried to explain her situation to the social worker but was unsuccessful.
On Nov. 13, K.L. went to the Office of Student Assignments and met with Director Teri Surbeck, according to the lawsuit. She was told there that she must contact school social workers to discuss where her children would be attending school, the lawsuit stated. K.L. told Surbeck that the family had stayed with K.L.’s mother until her mother received a lease violation letter from her apartment manager, her lawsuit says.