YELM, Wash. — A family is pushing for answers after a traumatizing moment at Yelm Middle School. A student claims she got her period in her classroom, but wasn’t allowed to use the restroom as it bled through her clothes.
“I was like, ‘But I need to go to the bathroom. I’m on my period. I need to go change my pad,’” said 13-year-old Byllie Eighinger-Lemm. “I was straight up with her, and then she was like, ‘Go sit down.’”
Eighinger-Lemm started texting her father, who told her she should get up and go to the bathroom anyway.
In the hallway, she says school employees confronted her and told her she would need to report to in-school suspension, after grabbing her belongings in front of her class.
“I knew that it was visible and that they could see it,” she said. “It was really embarrassing. Then, I was kind of scared because I was getting in trouble.”
“She missed the rest of the week of school, due to embarrassment,” said her father, Bill Lemm. “She got in the truck and she was in tears.”
The family is seeking accountability -- and permanent change.
“These are young minds growing into adulthood,” Lemm said. “That teacher, by demoralizing her the way she did, there’s no fixing that.”
District officials told KIRO 7 they were looking into the incident.
“We are aware of the situation and are investigating the incident,” wrote District Communications Director Teri Melone. “District and building administration have been in contact with the family, and we will follow up with them after the investigation.”
“What does justice look like for you in this?” KIRO 7′s Madeline Ottilie asked Eighinger-Lemm.
“Just knowing that she won’t do that to any other kid,” Eighinger-Lemm said. “Knowing that could happen to someone younger than me... that’s kind of heartbreaking.”