Shawnee Mission East student charged with felony after racist attack on Black student
A white, male Shawnee Mission East High School student has been charged with felony aggravated battery after hurling a racist slur and beating a Black, female student in a school hallway.
The 15-year-old male was charged in Johnson County District Court as a juvenile for causing bodily harm in the attack against a Black sophomore, which was caught on video, sparking protests and rattling the community. A hearing has been set for Dec. 6.
Court records show the teen also was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor in a separate case from June, including aggravated battery, aggravated assault and battery. An emergency review hearing was called in that case on Wednesday, where the teen was ordered to be held in custody.
The Star is not naming the students because they are both minors.
Roughly 100 Shawnee Mission East students walked out of class on Monday to protest the district’s handling of the fight, which students say left the Black girl in the hospital with a broken nose. In an interview with The Star this week, the 15-year-old girl’s parents said she received a five-day suspension for the fight, where both students threw punches.
It is still unclear what punishment the white, male student, who yelled the N-word and started the fight when he pushed the girl, received. A few students told The Star he also was suspended.
The district has declined to provide details on how it has responded to the incident, or any punishment issued, citing student privacy issues.
Outrage has continued to grow as students and parents call the attack a hate crime and plead with school leaders to take stronger action.
“That young lady was the victim of a hate crime, and it should be treated as such,” said Anisha Jackson, a parent of a now-graduated Shawnee Mission student, who has been active pushing for change in the district. “She was protecting herself essentially, from videos I saw, as she was being assaulted. I’m not sure why she got suspended.”
A video shared with The Star from Nov. 15 shows a Black, female student walking away from what seemed to be an exchange of words with another student. She’s heard saying, “Don’t say nothing unless you’re gonna come say it to my face.”
Then a white, male student — who a couple of students told The Star was not involved with the previous argument — interjects telling her to, “Shut the **** up.” The female student turns around and starts walking in his direction. He charges toward her, shouting the N-word. He then pushes her, and she throws a punch. They both start swinging until the fight is broken up.
Calls for more discipline, changes at school
Several high schoolers argued it was only the latest in a series of racist incidents they feel have happened without school leaders taking appropriate action. They are calling on school leaders to issue more serious discipline for discrimination and hate speech, plus make cultural changes so that students of color feel safe at school.
District spokesman David Smith said in an email on Tuesday that, “It is a priority for the administration and the Board of the Shawnee Mission School District that all our students are treated with respect and feel welcome in our schools,” adding that, “The District is saddened by this incident.”
“While we cannot share specific information about the incident or the District’s response, the District wants to reassure the community it takes proactive measures to create a safe educational environment where every student feels a sense of belonging. This includes extensive work to support diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Smith said.
“Unfortunately, children make big and small mistakes every day. We will continue to respond to those mistakes in an equitable and consistent manner, and our efforts to educate our students about how to treat each other will be ongoing.”
The district, Smith said, has a policy prohibiting any discrimination or harassment, including racial discrimination or bullying among students. The student code of conduct prohibits the “use of profanity, personally insulting remarks, attacks on a person’s race, gender, nationality, religion, or behavior that disrupts learning or the safety of anyone in the environment.”
Racial slurs or hate speech are not specifically outlined in the code of conduct. The use of profane or obscene language is listed as a “Level II” offense in the student handbook, which could result in detention or a short-term suspension. Threats, fights and bullying are a more serious offense.
Fighting results in a short-term out-of-school suspension, or for severe or repeated offenses, expulsion. The district notifies city police and school resource officers of any potential violation of the law, per its policy.
Kansas City’s Black Student Solidarity Network, a youth-led organization supporting students in Kansas and Missouri, has called on the district to expel the white student, and issue an apology for suspending the girl. The group wants the district to revise its discipline policies to offer better protections for “victims of racial hate speech.”
“Black students must have the right to defend themselves without fear of unjust punishment,” the group said in a social media post.
Students also are asking for more cultural competency training for administrators, more transparent measures for holding students and staff accountable for racist behavior, and other changes to address systemic racism in their schools.
This story was originally published November 29, 2023 at 1:40 PM.
