U.S. Department of Education opens civil rights probe at Kearney School District
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the Kearney School District after a parent filed a complaint in May.
Tiffaney Whitt’s complaint accuses the school district of discrimination and retaliation. Whitt, a mother of seven children, pulled her children from Kearney schools.
After her 15-year-old reported that another student at Kearney Junior High had written the N-word on a class project and another student had called him the slur, Whitt’s son was accused of inappropriately touching a female student.
Whitt filed the claim after a review of surveillance video found no evidence of sexual harassment or assault committed by her child. She sat with assistant superintendent Jeff Morrison to view the footage.
One of her children also received an anonymous threat referencing Emmett Till, and a message directed to her child on May 24 was alarming enough that Kearney police opened an investigation that is ongoing.
The Office for Civil Rights sent Whitt a letter Sept. 16, confirming it had opened an investigation into the school district.
The office will investigate whether the school district engaged in discrimination or retaliation.
The letter said opening an investigation does not mean the Office of Civil Rights has made a determination on the “merits of the complaint.”
Whitt included six incidents in her complaint:
- On April 6, 2021, another student used a racial slur and made offensive racial comments against her children while on a school bus.
- On April 30, 2021, a different high school student called her oldest son a racial slur in a school parking lot while picking up his little brother.
- On May 13, 2021, a junior high school student typed a racial slur on one of her 15-year-old son’s group projects.
- On May 14, 2021, her 15-year-old son was called a racial slur by other students in class.
- On May 14, 2021, the school district retaliated against her 15-year-old son by disciplining him for an alleged student conduct violation.
- On May 24, 2021, her 15-year-old son received a death threat on Snapchat.
This is the latest in a string of racist incidents reported at Kansas City area schools this year.
Earlier this week, Raytown Superintendent of Schools Allan Markley said in a letter to parents and guardians that the district was aware of a Raytown High School teacher using the N-word during a discussion with students in class.
Last week, Olathe South High School’s principal reassured parents and students that the school is “thoroughly investigating” a student’s racist homecoming proposal, and he vowed to immediately address the incident “in accordance with our Student Code of Conduct.”
Last month, a racist petition calling for a return of slavery was circulated online by students at Park Hill South High School.
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 2:37 PM.
