JACKSONVILLE, Fl.a – The mother of a Westside High School student, who was body slammed by a teacher while playing musical chairs, said she hopes taking legal action against the school employee will lead to his removal from the Duval County Public Schools system.
Joanna Millikin spoke with News4JAX on Thursday, a day after she said she plans to file a lawsuit and press charges against the teacher who slammed her daughter, Nyla Millikin, to the ground during the last round of musical chairs at a pep rally on Friday.
According to Joanna Millikin, her daughter has had to miss multiple days of school after she suffered a concussion and bruised ribs, and the medical bills keep piling up.
“She went to the doctor yesterday to follow up with her pediatrician, and they told her that she does still have a severe concussion, and she can be out for like, two to three weeks out of school and out of her sports,” Joanna Millikin said.
The mother said her priority is taking care of her daughter and making sure there is accountability.
“Already got a lawyer acquired, and now I want to go through with pressing charges and basically getting him out of the whole DCPS school system,” she said.
Nyla’s mother, Joanna Millikin, posted a video on TikTok showing the moment when her daughter was thrown to the ground by the man, who News4JAX is not identifying because he has not been charged with a crime. After that, two people can be seen helping the student stand up while the man celebrated that he had won the game.
Watch the video below
Following the incident, DCPS told News4JAX the employee had been moved to a non-student contact position while it investigates the incident. The district also said it holds its team to a high standard, but outside of that, it couldn’t provide any more details.
News4JAX reached out to DCPS Police to ask if it is investigating, and if it is aware that the family is considering pressing charges. However, we were ultimately sent back to district officials who shared the same information previously shared.
Gary Englander, the attorney representing Nyla Millikin and her family, said they are in the process of pursuing legal action.
“We put them on notice, the school board, and they’re doing their own internal investigation, and we need to wait. It takes months, which you have to give them before you can file suit for them to finish their investigation,” Englander said.
Joanna Millikin said it is hard to watch the video of her daughter being thrown to the ground.
“It just, it hurts me. I try not to watch it at all, because that’s my daughter going on the ground, and my husband doesn’t even want to watch it,” the mother said.
News4JAX also reached out to the State Board of Education to ask if it was aware of the incident, but we were told because of Florida state law, it can neither confirm or deny the existence of a pending investigation.