Recently graduated Longwood High School student Magdalyn Abcug alleges school staff mocked her and questioned her Tourette syndrome diagnosis

A recently graduated Longwood High School student who has Tourette syndrome and other disabilities said she endured years of harassment and bullying from students and staff, some of whom ridiculed and even questioned her diagnosis.

Magdalyn Abcug, 18, has filed a federal lawsuit against the district and the board of education, alleging the district failed to follow her 504 plan, which is protected by civil rights law and allows for certain accommodations due to her medical conditions. She is represented by Lake Success-based attorney John C. Luke Jr.

In some cases, she alleges, the school staff's behavior made her tics worse and led to seizures caused by emotional distress. The district's alleged actions have taken a toll on her health and education, causing her to miss classes and exams, she said.

She said she also is still being treated for symptoms related to a concussion she sustained in March after fainting in a school hallway. Abcug alleges she visited the nurse's office because she was feeling hot and dizzy and, rather than place her in a wheelchair as required in her 504 plan, she was sent to the visitor's office to be picked up by grandmother. On the way there, she said she fainted and hit her head on the floor.

“They're liable for my injuries, and for humiliating me," Abcug, who graduated Friday with an anticipated 4.0 GPA, said in a phone interview. "And I, more than anything, do not want this to happen in the future to disabled students."

The district declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

"We take all claims seriously and fully cooperate with the legal process whenever such allegations arise," Superintendent Lance Lohman said in a statement. "Further information will be made available at such time as we are able to share it."

'Commonly misunderstood'

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary motor and vocal tics.

According to the Tourette Association of America, the “syndrome is commonly misunderstood to be a behavioral or emotional condition, rather than a neurological condition.” Many students with the disorder are punished for their symptoms, which exacerbates the condition, according to the association.

In a 2026 survey, the association found that 70% of children with the disorder experienced bullying while 8 in 10 children felt their tics negatively affected their school experience. Ian Lang, the association’s chief executive, said in an interview: “I think that tells us a story of a system that is not working for our kids who have Tourette’s."

He added, “Driving understanding… is an important part of raising awareness."

Abcug's suit details several instances in which she was allegedly mocked, punished or dismissed by staffers at the Middle Island school for her disabilities.

In January 2023, an assistant principal yelled at her to stop making noises in the hallway and accused her of lying about her condition, triggering a tic attack and missed classes, according to the suit. When Abcug’s mother later spoke to the assistant principal about the incident, she was told her daughter “does not look like she has Tourette syndrome,” the complaint states.

Abcug's 504 plan, the lawsuit states, allows her to leave class early to avoid crowds and potential taunts. On one occasion in September 2024, she describes in the suit how a school psychologist refused to release her early from his office and told her “she was going to walk in the hallway with everyone else,” despite her telling him it triggers tics.

According to the suit, he held "her hand like a child," while other students mocked her. She suffered tics as a result and she urged him to take her back to his office. He "rolled his eyes and took her back," the suit alleged. He then told her "it seems too convenient that she tics in these type of situations," according to the suit.

That same day, the suit alleges, the school principal, Sam Ahmed, took away a Pulsetto device Abcug wore around her neck to control her tics, calling it a “shock collar."

Abcug alleged the district required her doctors to complete specific forms to use the device, which she provided within a few days, but according to the suit, approval was delayed, resulting in several tic attacks and missed classes that Abcug said the device could have prevented.

Abcug also described being bullied in a teacher's classroom in September 2024. The teacher, the suit alleged, would "mimic one of the plaintiff’s tics by whistling” after making eye contact with her.

In April 2025, Abcug claims the district retaliated against her for filing a Dignity for All Students Act, or DASA, complaint. While suffering a tic episode, she went to the cafeteria to get water and a snack, allowed per her 504 plan. As a result of her tic, she said the words, “I have a gun,” according to the suit.

A district employee said this was unacceptable and sent Abcug to the principal’s office to be disciplined, which caused a seizure, she alleged.

Tourette awareness presentation

Abcug's lawsuit, which seeks unspecified compensatory damages, also provides examples of incidents where the district allegedly failed to enforce its own code of conduct and failed to investigate or act on instances of bullying.

Abcug recounted what she described as a particularly painful moment that took place this past October while she was conducting a presentation at the high school in partnership with the Tourette Association of America to raise awareness about the disorder and coprolalia, which is marked by uncontrollable outbursts of inappropriate words. During the event, she said her peers began yelling racial slurs, which lasted for about 45 seconds while staff initially did nothing.

“The whole purpose of the presentation was to create understanding and acceptance. So hearing students react that way and seeing the lack of immediate response from staff members to what the students were doing, it was just very devastating for me because this was supposed to foster inclusion and acceptance, and instead it became a way to target me and my disability ... It highlighted the severity of the situation,” she said in an interview.

“I can't do anything about my disability. It is a lifelong neurological disability that I cannot change or fix … but the students that are bullying me can control that they're bullying me,” she said.

In another instance, the suit alleges that while experiencing a tic and being bullied by students at a football game in November 2024, a teacher yelled at her “to stop ticcing."

More recently, Abcug alleges she was unable to take her AP psychology exam because school officials failed to submit her required accommodations to the College Board.

She said the district also delayed approving her request for a service dog that would help alert her to potential tic attacks, seizures and falling heart rate and blood pressure. She said her parents submitted medical documents in January, but the request was not approved until March 16 — one hour after she fainted and hit her head in a school hallway, sustaining a concussion.

"Accommodations for disabled students are not special treatment," Abcug said. "Those accommodations are what give us the equal opportunity to education that every other student has."

Abcug plans to attend SUNY New Paltz in the fall, with hopes of majoring in psychology. The teen, a youth ambassador with the Tourette Association of America, said she wants Longwood staff and students to be educated about her condition and to treat her and others fairly.

"This is my main goal in life, to help people and make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else," she said.

Newsday's Janon Fisher contributed to this story.