Lawsuit: Muslim boy questioned at Ohio school about religion

CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal civil rights lawsuit says a 10-year-old Muslim boy was questioned about his patriotism and religious beliefs by a student teacher at a school outside Cleveland and was ordered to undress to determine whether his parents had abused him.

The lawsuit filed last week says the boy’s teacher, the student teacher and a nurse for the Lakeview Local School District in Cortland, held him against his will in a room last November and coerced him into saying he’d been disciplined by his mother with a belt.

Family attorney Matthew Abens says a county children’s services investigation quickly determined there was no wrongdoing by his parents.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says the boy is being treated for trauma.

Lakeview schools Superintendent Velina Taylor declined to comment Tuesday.