Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Lexington student’s father over grade concerns
A Fayette County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Fayette County Public Schools filed by the father of a high school student who felt his son’s grade-point average wasn’t properly weighted and argued that his concerns over the issue were never properly addressed by the school district.
Judge Lucy VanMeter dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice last month after ruling that Zhengya Qi, the father who filed the lawsuit, could not represent himself on behalf of his son. Qi’s son is a 10th-grade student at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
Qi filed a complaint on behalf of his son on Aug. 9, alleging his child’s grades were not properly weighted by the school system when classes were conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qi alleged his concerns were not addressed by the board of education when he requested a hearing take place to speak with the board members.
Qi filed the suit against Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, the board of education, board Chair Tyler Murphy and Tracy Bruno, the chief middle school leadership officer at FCPS.
Qi first took his concern to the virtual academy, which is overseen by Fayette County Public Schools, and told them the grades should be weighted, according to the lawsuit. When the academy did not directly change the averages, the father went to Liggins to express concerns, according to the lawsuit.
When no action was taken by the school or the school system, Qi took the matter to court to ask for a “fair hearing” with the administration to determine if his son’s grade point average should be weighted, a protective order to prevent “retaliatory actions” against his son and a declaration of rights to whether or not his son’s grades should be weighted, according to the lawsuit.
According to court documents, a person filing action on behalf of a minor cannot provide pro se representation — or represent themselves — to the real party in interest. The real party in interest would be Qi’s son.
Therefore, VanMeter ruled Qi could not bring this action on behalf of his son without getting the representation of a licensed attorney. The court struck Qi’s complaint from the record, and dismissed the case without prejudice.
