Fort Worth-area woman loses civil rights battle over disability complaint
Leslie Jasperson lost her battle against the library district after her federal civil rights complaint alleging discrimination because of her disability was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Jasperson, who has bipolar disorder, filed a complaint against the Forest Hill Library District earlier this year with the Department of Education civil rights office in Dallas. She alleged the board discriminated against her by changing the bylaws to state that a person with mental illness was prohibited from holding office.
Jasperson’s complaint alleged that the board voted to change the bylaws to include the removal language, but the department of education said there were no such changes listed in the minutes, and that the last time the bylaws were amended was in 2018.
The complaint also alleged that she was banned from the library for a year because of her disability, but the civil rights office found that she was banned because of disruptive behavior which included yelling at employees when she inquired about open records requests.
Jasperson said in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that “it just seems no matter what I do no one will listen to me.”