Five white students at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach have filed a series of civil legal actions after the school suspended them over an alleged racist “birthday prank” involving a Black special education student in March 2025.
Lawsuits target school leaders’ account of what happened
According to 13 News Now, six students were initially connected to the incident, but five are now moving forward with litigation. Their filings include a $10 million defamation lawsuit, three petitions for judicial review challenging individual suspensions, and an additional $3 million lawsuit.
As Atlanta Black Star notes, court documents tied to the latest filing claim the school’s principal, superintendent, and chief of schools created a misleading narrative about the incident—one the plaintiffs say damaged their reputations and caused broader personal harm.
The incident at the center of the dispute
The incident occurred on March 12, 2025, when the group allegedly gave the Black student a gift bag containing racially stereotypical items—fried chicken, watermelon, and grape Kool-Aid.
Principal warned families discipline was coming
Several hours later, Kellam High Principal Ryan Schubart emailed families stating that a student had been harassed by a group of students. In the message, Schubart said those involved would “be disciplined to the fullest extent possible” under the school’s code of conduct, per 13 News Now.
The families’ attorney disputes that framing in the lawsuit, arguing the exchange was intended as a joke among classmates and that adults escalated the situation beyond its context.
“They gave their friend a birthday gift, and in hindsight, was it the smartest thing to do? No. But these are ninth graders, and ninth graders don’t make the best judgment, so the context matters,” attorney Tim Anderson, who represents the student plaintiffs, said in a statement obtained by 13 News Now.
The lawsuit also points to what it describes as security-camera footage showing a friendly interaction.
“Video evidence from security cameras of the exchange shows the Plaintiffs, the gift recipient, and other students laughing, hugging, and engaging in friendly behavior. Teachers and staff members were present in the vicinity, observing from a distance, but no intervention occurred by any adult,” the lawsuit states, according to 13 News Now.
Investigation report includes conflicting statements
An initial investigation report included a witness account that presented a different view of the moment. After receiving the bag, the student reportedly said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The report also states the student said, “What they handed me in the bag was Black people food.” Anderson, however, argues that the student later texted the group saying his comment was pressured.
“He thought the card was funny,” Anderson told 13 News Now. “They gave him a birthday card for a girl, even. And they wrote things in there that they thought were funny, the adults didn’t, and I agree with them, they probably weren’t funny.”
According to the report, the student’s parents have asked for him to transfer schools.
Board member’s post and lawsuit’s defamation claim
Virginia Beach School Board Member Melinda Rogers posted about the incident on Facebook, writing that she was “sickened, disgusted, and heartbroken,” and urging the community to confront what she described as racist behavior.
“While the perpetrators were children, they must be taught that these egregious acts will not be tolerated in Virginia Beach or at Kellam High School,” she wrote in part. “I urge the Kellam community to speak to their own children this evening and reinforce why these racist actions are wrong and why they must never be complicit in them.”
The defamation lawsuit, however, places blame on Principal Schubart, alleging he sent the initial message with “reckless disregard for the truth,” and that it harmed the students’ “reputations, emotional well-being and prospects,” 13 News Now reported.
“These statements falsely accused the minor Plaintiffs of engaging in racist harassment, despite evidence to the contrary, including video footage and the context of the events in question,” the lawsuit says.
The students involved were suspended and barred from returning to the school for the remainder of the school year.
