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SALT LAKE CITY — A new lawsuit alleges a Black student in the Davis School District was harassed by fellow students and was wrongfully disciplined by school staff shortly after the district was reprimanded by the Department of Justice for similar issues.
The lawsuit, filed at Utah's federal court Wednesday on behalf of the student's mother, also accuses the Davis School District of violating its agreement with the Department of Justice — announced in October — after the department investigated and found widespread harassment of Black and Asian students by other students, as well as staff. The lawsuit named the Davis School District and three staff members as plaintiffs.
The new allegations focus on a Black ninth grade student attending a junior high school in the Davis district. The court filing says he maintained excellent grades and participated in sports. Despite the agreement, the lawsuit alleges the teen was subjected to "racial harassment by students on a daily basis," and was being called "cotton picker," among other types of harassment.
The teen was attending a school assembly in December 2021 when staff members told students to settle down so the event could proceed, according to the complaint filed in the lawsuit. A white student, who was one seat away from the boy, continued to be disruptive, prompting the the teen to tap the fellow student on the shoulder, telling the student to quiet down.
"In response, the white student swung around, slapping (the teen) on the face," the lawsuit says. A white teacher named in the lawsuit allegedly saw the incident; but instead of reprimanding the other student, the teacher allegedly approached the Black student and said she would be giving him an "unsatisfactory" grade for his conduct at the assembly. The student told the teacher what happened, and the lawsuit claims she then explained that he shouldn't have been "tapping" the other student during the assembly.
Several months went by before another incident of alleged racial discrimination. In February, the lawsuit says the teen's teacher asked him to go see why others in his class had not returned from the bathroom. He later found some classmates using "illegal substances" in the bathroom and told the teacher, according to the suit. Later, the lawsuit states, the Black student was accused by a school secretary of having those illegal substances and allegedly had his backpack searched.
No contraband was found, the lawsuit states.
The Black student was called into a vice principal's office the same day, where the vice principal allegedly "demanded (the student) tell him what (he) had done with a female student," the lawsuit says. The teen told the vice principal he didn't know what he was talking about, allegedly prompting the vice principal to tell the teen he was "aware of the criminal conduct." The teen allegedly admitted to kissing a female student, but the vice principal continued to pressure him, pushing the teen to tell him the "rest of the story," the lawsuit states.
The vice principal allegedly told the teen that the school had the "whole thing" on video, according to the lawsuit. The teen continued to tell the vice principal he didn't know what he was talking about, the suit says, and the vice principal told the boy to write a statement of what happened and handed him a notepad. After writing that he had kissed a female student, the vice principal allegedly "demanded that (the teen) write down the rest of the story," the lawsuit says. The teen later left the vice principal's office without permission.
The school district was later informed of the incidents of alleged discrimination, though it is unclear when that happened. The district allegedly admitted that no video existed of the teen engaging in inappropriate conduct with the female student, according to the lawsuit. The district allegedly "expressed confusion as to why (the vice principal) was even questioning (the teen) at all," the lawsuit states. The district also assured that the teen would not be receiving an "unsatisfactory" grade in connection with the school assembly, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit further states that since the alleged incidents, the teen's grades have steadily declined and he now suffers from anxiety and severe stomach aches before going to school each day. The teen continues to be harassed and is targeted with racial slurs "on a daily basis," the lawsuit states.
Not only does the lawsuit accuse the school district of violating the boy's rights, as spelled out in the 14th Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1964, but the lawsuit also points out that the teen's experience is similar to the type of conduct that the Department of Justice previously found within the district. A September letter from the federal government to the school district mentions that Black students had reported that peers told them to "go pick cotton," among other forms of harassment.
The lawsuit also alleges the harassment of the teen violates the agreement between the Davis School District and the U.S. Department of Justice. The October agreement indicated the district would take "immediate steps to ensure a prompt and equitable response to racial harassment and other discrimination," according to the lawsuit.
When reached, Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said the district would not comment on pending litigation.
"However, the Davis School District is taking extensive steps since entering an agreement with the Department of Justice to eliminate racial harassment and discrimination at all levels," Williams said in an email Thursday. "The district takes all complaints of racial discrimination and harassment seriously and handles each with as much care and compassion as possible."
Williams also pointed to steps the school district has taken since the October agreement, including the hiring of Dr. Jacqueline Thompson as a new assistant superintendent. He also pointed to partnerships with local stakeholders — like that with Hill Air Force Base Col. Jenise Carroll, Utah first lady Abby Cox, and Davis County Commissioner Bob Stevenson — to combat the issue of racism in schools.
Aaron Bergman, one of the attorneys representing the child's mother in the lawsuit, told KSL.com that his client hopes the lawsuit will bring relief to her son, who has continued to be subjected to harassment.
The lawsuit did not request a specific dollar amount for damages and, instead, requests that a jury determine an appropriate amount.
