A federal civil rights complaint has been filed against the Pennridge School District for "pervasive” race and sex discrimination in district schools.
The Education Law Center and the Advocacy for Racial and Civil Justice Clinic submitted the complaint Nov. 15 on behalf of the Bucks County NAACP and the PairUP Society, a local organization founded by parents and community members to support underrepresented students.
"For years, teachers, students of color and LGBTQ+ students have reported race and sex-based harassment,” the complaint states. "But district officials have refused to remedy the systemic and pervasive forms of race- and sex-based harassment extant throughout the district. Instead, the district has created and exacerbated a hostile environment.”
The complainants include Black and queer students who report regular use of racial and homophobic slurs by students on school campuses with impunity. In addition, two Black male students reported being suspended and charged criminally after fighting with white students who repeatedly called them the N-word. The white students, the complaint noted, faced no criminal charges. Other incidents include students mocking Black students’ hair and dumping trash on the heads of LGBTQ+ students as they tried to use the bathroom.
The complaint charges the district with not only a "chronic failure” to respond to racial and anti-LGBTQ+ bullying but actively exacerbating the hostile environment with discriminatory policies and practices. Examples include the disbandment of the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the prohibition of symbols and statements regarding sexual orientation and gender identity and policies that forcibly out transgender students by mandating parental consent for name and pronoun changes and requiring the students to use the bathrooms and play on the sports teams that match their biological sex.
"At least one student reported that after the school informed his parents about his transgender identity without his consent, he was disowned by his parents,” reads the complaint.
The complaint also accuses the district of eliminating reading materials and learning units about systemic oppression, LGBTQ+ issues and racial and gender diversity, citing removals of library books with LGBTQ+ characters and changes to the 9th grade English curriculum that replaced books about racial inequality in the United States with a biography about Walt Disney.
"The school board cannot remove books simply because they discuss controversial racial topics or because they depict gay or lesbian relationships,” reads the complaint.
The complaint continues to accuse the district of attempting to cover up the hostile environment by discontinuing the district’s participation in the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), a state survey to assess the extent of problem behaviors among students and provide resources, and passing a survey policy requiring school board permission and parental consent for student participation in surveys on "controversial issues.”
"No child should have to choose between their safety and their education,” said Adrienne King, a Pennridge parent who founded PairUP after her child experienced racial slurs and threats at school. "Pennridge School District has a duty to protect students of all identities so that they are not prevented from learning simply because of who they are.”
"Our thanks to the brave students and advocates who have faced callous, hostile, and harmful school environments for years but did not give up in the fight to make their school communities better,” said attorney Ashli Giles-Perkins of the Education Law Center. "Pennridge School District has to address the racial and LGBTQ+ discrimination that continues to plague its school community. The situation calls for strong interventions from the federal government.”
In response to the complaint, the Pennridge School District released the following statement:
"The Pennridge School District has received the complaint filed with the Department of Education and Department of Justice. The District intends to review the complaint thoroughly and seek meaningful engagement with both the Department of Education and the Department of Justice. As it is a matter of litigation involving students, the District is constrained from providing any additional comment,” read the statement.
This is not the first time that Pennridge has been sued for race and sex discrimination. In 2017, three sex discrimination lawsuits were filed against the district by the National Women’s Law Center on behalf of three female students who accused the district of retaliating against them for reporting sexual harassment and assault by pushing them into an alternative school program designed for students with disciplinary issues.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.thereporteronline.com.
See also:
North Penn to Hold Community Forum on High School Renovations
North Penn Could Expand Staffing at Healthcare Center
Pennbrook Seventh Grader Receives PAGE Distinguished Student Award
North Penn District Staff Being Trained for Youth Aid Panel Diversionary Program
North Penn Sets January Referendum Date for High School Renovations
