A Louisiana school district has made moves to implement a no-hate speech clause in its policy after a teenager was a victim of hate speech while attending class.
In March of 2021, Stephanie Miller’s teenage son was attending a virtual class at Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy in Westwego when he allegedly saw his name next to a racial slur and a brown stick figure hanging from a noose on the screen.
The mother said she reported the incident to the school and the Jefferson Parish school district, but they were unable to locate the person who created the drawing and used the derogatory term toward her child, according to WDSU.
The person who made the drawing and was a part of the bullying, according to court records, had the screen name, “BBLAKFACEEEEE.”
The school acknowledged that Miller’s son was involved in an incident, and the district launched “an investigation due to its serious and sensitive nature.”
“Jefferson Parish Schools strictly prohibits bullying and harassment in any form and values diversity, equity and inclusion,” the schools said. “The district worked closely with the family, app vendor, and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office to conduct a thorough investigation. Due to limited data retained by the app, the district was unable to identify the responsible party.”
According to the school, the district immediately disabled Gimkit, the learning app, district-wide in an effort to prevent anything like this from happening again.
The school sent a letter following the incident offering “sincere apologies for the inappropriate drawing and use of a racial slur that targeted” her son.
Regardless of the changes, Miller still has launched a lawsuit against the school and the district, claiming negligence. The school says nothing could have been done to prevent anything from happening.
“I want something so dark, dim, and cruel to be brought to the light, and I feel that has not…
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