A pair of angry parents are taking legal action after their daughter lost a regional spelling bee over a technicality they believed had already been addressed.
The outraged parents are demanding justice after their 12-year-old daughter, Amara Chepuri, lost the Tampa Bay regional spelling bee because she misspelled a word that they say was not on a predetermined list.
Now, the Chepuris say they are considering pursuing legal action, claiming that Amara was unfairly disqualified and should still be eligible for the national contest.
‘She could have won,’ her father, Ananth Chepuri, told the Tampa Bay Times. ‘She’s one of the best spellers in Florida.’
Ahead of the prestigious spell-off, Amara asked her teacher, Billie Jo Williams, for clarification on the rules and the list of words spellers received to study.
‘If by chance the list gets exhausted, will we have a tiebreaker?’ Amara wrote. ‘Also, if we do have a tiebreaker what words could be given?’
The teacher explained in an email obtained by the Tampa Bay Times that the school would not be implementing a tiebreaker.
However, he mentioned that the school had an additional 150 words, which the competitors had not yet studied, available ‘if we exhaust the list.’
Ananth Chepuri is demanding justice after his daughter, Amara Chepuri, 12, lost a regional spelling bee due to a misspelled word after the set list of words was ‘exhausted’ prematurely. Pictured: Amara Chepuri reacts after correctly spelling the last word during the Tampa Bay regional Scripps Spelling Bee qualifier on February 8
The Chepuri’s are pursuing legal action, claiming that Amara was unfairly disqualified and should still be eligible for the national contest. Pictured: Amara Chepuri (third from right) after winning the Rays & Rowdies Foundation Regional Spelling Bee on February 13, 2024
Amara and her family understood Williams’ message to mean that the school would use the entire published list before referring to the extra set, according to the Times.
But during the competition, the judges appeared to have skipped some words after it became clear that the two final spellers had memorized the list – which according to Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, ‘is common practice for a spelling bee.’
When judges began reading from the additional list, Amara misspelled the word pallbearer, while the other remaining student spelled equality correct to win.
The Chepuris contended that the school had disregarded its assurance to Amara that the primary list would be fully used and challenged the result of the competition.
But to them, challenging the outcome meant that the bee’s final result remained in uncertain.
So, as they waited for the school’s response to their rebuttal, the Chepuris sought out other ways to ensure their daughter’s spot in the upcoming national competition.
Before each contest, participating spellers receive a copy of the rules, which include a section on eligibility.
The eligibility rules state that once a speller has been ‘disqualified at any level’ of the regional bee program, they ‘may not seek advancement… through another regional partner and/or enrollment in another school,’ the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The Chepuris contended that the school had disregarded its assurance to Amara that the primary list would be fully used and challenged the result of the competition. Pictured: Amara Chepuri after winning the Rays & Rowdies Foundation Regional Spelling Bee on February 13, 2024
But, because the Chepuris argue that Amara was never officially disqualified from her school spelling bee – claiming Amara appealed the decision and did not receive a response before the registration deadline – they entered her in another qualifying event.
However, a spokesperson from Amara’s school, the State College of Florida Collegiate, said they did in fact respond to the Chepuris’ appeal in writing on January 29 – nearly two weeks before the February 8 regional.
And the answer was clear.
‘My hope is that you are aware and understand that all decisions were made as a team, were based on the rulebook and the conversations with Scripps before and following the school Bee, and all under a simple premise of providing a fair environment and equal opportunity for participation for all students,’ Kelly Monod, associate vice president of collegiate schools, wrote.
Jamie Smith, another State College spokesperson, said: ‘Amara was not the winner and would not represent the school.’
‘The student didn’t spell the word correctly,’ Smith said, adding: ‘That was the end of the process.’
Amara went on to win the second of her qualifying attempts at making the national bee, however, a Scripps representative arrived at the event shortly after her victory to inform her – and her parents – of her disqualification.
Following the ruling, the Chepuris requested an in-person meeting with school officials to discuss the initial bee, hoping Amara might be recognized as a co-champion.
Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
However, they left the meeting without any changes.
Chepuri argued that the teacher had not presented all the relevant facts regarding the exhaustion of the word list.
Had the full information been shared, he contended, school leaders would have made a different decision, and Scripps would not have endorsed the school’s actions.
Loeffler has since called Amara’s situation ‘heartbreaking,’ noting that the student clearly worked hard, and her parents ‘understandably’ want to advocate for their child.
But, the bee chief executive added that the spelling bee is about more than just spelling.
‘It’s also about sportsmanship, resiliency and the knowledge that preparation and luck play equal roles in the competition as in life,’ she said.
‘You might face a word you didn’t know, and it doesn’t end up your day. If we were just looking for the best speller in America, we would just give one spelling test,’ Loeffler concluded.
