ACLU seeks Justice Department investigation of Boise-area school district. This is why
The American Civil Liberties Union in July released a report that said two big Canyon County school districts disciplined Latino students at higher rates than their white counterparts. It said they had staff members who made denigrating remarks about Latino fellow staff members and students.
Now the ACLU has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate one of the districts. But the ACLU has not asked for an investigation of the other, saying it is encouraged by the district’s reform efforts.
The ACLU on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on behalf of all Latino students in the Nampa School District and two staff members.
According to the complaint, students and staff members witnessed a number of instances where Latino students were discriminated against, including:
A school resource officer who said his job was “to ‘clean up’ the school after he was discussing a Mexican student who had been disciplined.”
A teacher telling a group of Latino students “you need to speak English here,” even though the students were speaking English.
An employee commenting “let’s see how long he lasts” because “we already got rid of all his friends” after a Latino student re-enrolled in the Nampa School District.
District spokesperson Kathleen Tuck told the Idaho Statesman in an email that the district is “aware of the ACLU complaint and is awaiting advice from legal counsel.”
One of the ACLU’s arguments is that Latino students who want to express pride in their culture through their clothing are unfairly targeted through Nampa’s policies.
The July report said dress code and disciplinary policies in the Nampa and Caldwell school districts prohibited students from wearing items or emblems that are evidence of membership or gang affiliation. But the ACLU said these policies are vague, leading to students facing discipline for wearing items like Catholic rosaries and clothing with the La Huelga Bird emblem, a symbol of the United Farm Workers union.
ACLU spokesperson Jeremy Woodson told the Statesman by email that the group is “starting with the Nampa School District due to the egregiousness of their discriminatory discipline policies in addition to a lack of response or action from the district in resolving problems with those policies.”
“We will continue advocacy efforts as it relates to Caldwell School District, but are at least encouraged by recent efforts that district has made around equity and inclusion,” Woodson said.
Latinos made up 38% of the Nampa School District’s student body, while white students made up 63% in the 2022-23 school year. Yet Latino students made up seven out of nine of the students with “gang-affiliated” dress code violations, according to the ACLU.
According to the complaint, the Nampa School District violated parts of the Civil Rights Act that prohibit racial discrimination, discrimination based on actual or perceived citizenship, and hostile education environments.
The ACLU is asking the government to remedy unlawful conduct and ensure compliance from the school district.
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