Cherry Hill schools settle suit over nickname

The Cherry Hill School District has agreed to settle a lawsuit with parents who allege that a teacher gave their daughter a sexually charged nickname.

The federal civil rights lawsuit also named the teacher, Thomas DiPatri Jr., as a defendant.

A tentative settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Camden does not specify the amount, only that attorneys and family are working out an annuity plan for a "friendly" settlement hearing not yet scheduled.

The original suit, filed March 18, claimed that DiPatri, an English teacher at Cherry Hill High School West, instructed his honors students to call the girl Handy Mandy, a reference to masturbation.

The girl complained to her guidance counselor in January, the suit says. The girl alleges that students teased her relentlessly with that and other epithets, and that the torment was encouraged.

DiPatri was suspended briefly.

The girl's school days "became so unbearable that she was forced to leave school and receive home instruction per her pediatrician's advice," the lawsuit alleges.

The suit further says the school's response was discriminatory under Title IX, a federal law. - Staff report