A Kansas community college was ordered by the Department of Justice to reform its policies and procedures on discipline, campus security, housing, and racial harassment after the school was accused of unfairly expelling and discriminating against its Black student-athletes.
The U.S. Justice Department reached this settlement with the Highland Community College after two lawsuits were filed against the institution for its discriminatory practices and on-campus harassment against some of its Black students.
The first lawsuit was filed by three former coaches who alleged that college leaders readily worked to reduce the number of Black student-athletes by purposely not recruiting African-Americans.
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They claimed that school leaders sought “to make Highland white again.” That federal lawsuit also detailed how college leaders worked to intimidate some of its Black student-athletes into withdrawing from school.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a second lawsuit against the school, claiming that Highland would expel Black students for minor or bogus violations and were targeted for searches, surveillance, and harassment on campus.
Federal data from 2022 shows that even though Black students make up about 11 percent of the campus, about half of Highland’s student-athlete population, up until recently, was Black. The complaints allege that the school subjected those students to more severe and unfair treatment than their white peers.
When the Justice Department opened its investigation into the school in January 2022, which the school fully cooperated in, its officers investigated these allegations.
The settlement between the feds and the school requires the college to revise its policies and practices to improve the campus climate, improve the fairness of its disciplinary proceedings brought against students,…
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