A third former teacher at the artist formerly known as Kanye West’s Donda Academy has joined a lawsuit against the private (and unaccredited) school.
Defendants listed in the suit include Donda Academy, Kanye West, and three other individuals. The suit—which was previously reported to include former teachers Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers—specifically alleges the school has engaged in multiple labor code violations, discrimination based on race or national origin, unlawful withholding of wages, and inaccurate wage statements.
According to a copy of the amended complaint viewed by Complex, the third ex-teacher—Timanii Meeks—first began her employment with Donda Academy through the Teachers on Reserve agency in August 2022 as a “long-term substitute teacher” for fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade-level math students.
According to Meeks, she made “numerous complaints” to the school’s then-principal and vice principal about a number of concerns, alleged safety hazards among them. Here’s how the alleged state of the facility is described in the complaint, which spans 26 pages:
“[T]he building was not safe for occupants, let alone for children.”
School leadership, meanwhile, is claimed to have responded to these concerns by describing the facility as a “work in progress.”
Additionally, Meeks is said to have made complaints regarding “significant issues with bullying and assault” that she said was taking place on Donda Academy grounds. In October of last year, Meeks says that several parents of enrolled students visited her classroom and complained about an alleged lack of traditional educational materials:
“Specifically, they complained that there were no books, textbooks, or any sort of educational items that would typically be found in a classroom.”
When these concerns were raised, Meeks alleges, she was “reprimanded” and ultimately terminated by Donda Academy without reason.
"Ms. Meeks was fired months before Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers were terminated but all three clearly witnessed the same illegal and disturbing code violations and conduct at the school, and all three were given the same retaliatory and unlawful treatment merely for trying to stand up for the students’ rights to a meaningful education," attorney Ron Zambrano said in a statement shared with Complex. "Donda and Ye now have an established pattern of retaliation, from two independent sources, to contend with."
The three former teachers are demanding a jury trial in the case.
