Mother sues Leander ISD over suicide

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) - This week marks one year since Meagan Allen, 15, killed herself at Leander High School.

Her mother, Angela Kandis, filed a lawsuit against the Leander school district on April 3 claiming they did not do enough to help the struggling teenager.

There were warning signs on the outside to suggest she was hurting inside.

"She stopped wearing her contact lenses and started wearing her glasses -- that was kind of unusual for her. She stopped wearing her makeup, she stopped really dressing up," said Kandis.

The obvious change came in the classroom when the freshman's typically high grades plummeted.

"There were 24 zeros in a three week period," said Kandis. "She had a 12 average in math. She was in all advanced placement classes."

Meagan's mother, whose military husband was deployed at the time, said she met with teachers and fired off numerous emails to counselors and the assistant principal to try and figure out a plan to turn things around. She also asked a counselor to meet with Meagan, but said that never happened.

The day Meagan killed herself in the bathroom at school baffles her the most.

"She walked around from 8 o'clock in the morning until 12:35 with a gun in her bag crying, hugging people, telling them she was sorry, writing suicide notes in class and nobody notices, " said Kandis. "Not one teacher notices. She goes to the nurse, she's throwing up -- nobody calls me."

Last fall, Kandis filed a complaint with the federal government after Meagan's death claiming Leander ISD did nothing when students bullied her and an employee inappropriately touched her. She also said the district failed to evaluate Meagan for special academic and emotional services.

After interviewing students, friends and teachers the U.S. Department of Education found "insufficient evidence" the district did anything wrong. Stories did not support the claims.

Every teacher interviewed said Meagan's behavior was not any different than other teenage girls.

That answer is not good enough for her mother.

"We filed the lawsuit for two reasons - one to get answers and two to change what is going on up there at that school for the rest of the students that are left."