A Utah school district recently resolved a case with the Department of Justice, acknowledging racial discrimination and harassment.
The settlement comes years after evidence indicated that Black students were not adequately safeguarded by school officials when facing race-based targeting from their white peers.
The Davis School District, which reached the settlement with the Justice Department, comprises around 82 percent white students, with a Black population of 1.1 percent. Throughout the case, it became evident that students of African descent were subjected to repeated victimization by their white peers, with little support or protection from teachers, principals, or other staff members on their respective campuses.
“Some of the findings in the letter include pervasive use of the N-word and other racial epithets, Black students being called apes or being told their skin was dirty or looked like feces,” Heidi Alder, the district’s legal consultant, said, according to FOX 13 Now.
She added, “The DOJ also determined that the district had not trained administrators and teachers properly on how to identify and respond to incidents of harassment.”
The ruling has sparked the interest of many, including Republican state Rep. Kera Birkeland.
“This is something that’s really important to me. My son has been called a monkey. He’s consistently hearing the N-word. It’s all over his school in front of teachers, administrators,” the politician and mother of six said during of the Utah Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review and General Oversight Committee hearing.
“Nothing happens. Jokes are constantly made. I’ve seen a text saying ‘We need some money We decided to sell you.’ These are deplorable comments and something has to change.”
One young girl, Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor, died by suicide in November 2021 after she reportedly told her teachers at the Foxboro Elementary School that she was being…
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