Croswell-Lexington Schools denies district 'problem' in reply to racial discrimination lawsuit
Croswell-Lexington Community Schools denied its administrators were “deliberately indifferent” to racial discrimination claims in a reply filed Tuesday to a federal complaint.
Sanilac County residents Rob and April Malick said their adopted teenage daughter, who’s Black, endured months of harassment and bullying from other students because of her race while a middle-schooler, as well as the early months of her freshman year last fall while a Cros-Lex student.
In their lawsuit filed May 23 in U.S. District Court, which also names the high school principal Kyle Wood and recently departed superintendent Dan Gilbertson. The family alleged the district didn’t probably act on concerns, reflecting a “custom of tolerance” or failure to wholly remedy its discrimination problem.
“The district denies the allegation in part as to any ‘problem’ in the district,” the reply filed Tuesday reads. “The district further denies that allegation with respect to training because it did and does provide equity training for all employees.
“In further answer, the district implemented a social emotional learning program with both its staff and students. The district further states that it had staff and administrators take a Safe Schools diversity, equity and inclusion training module in December 2021.”
Cros-Lex reply to Malick federal complaint by Jackie Smith on Scribd
Court documents between the two parties detail a series of email and in-person communication sessions over repeated issues faced by the Malick’s daughter.
And according to the Malicks, there were 20 such complaints about a “racially hostile environment” made between June and December last year. Those ranged from disparaging comments using the N-word or terms about their daughter's hair to threats of violence.
The Malicks enlisted the help of the Port Huron NAACP branch last fall in early attempts to seek recourse for their daughter outside of a district setting.
The district stated in its Tuesday reply to the Malicks that all “reported instances” of racial harassment and discrimination were “promptly and completely investigated, and as appropriate, discipline was issued.”
The district and its attorneys had not immediately replied to requests for comment Wednesday morning.
Sarah Gordon Thomas, on behalf of the Malicks, said via email, "We are looking forward to starting the discovery process and moving towards trial."
The original complaint also entailed a jury demand and sought relief for damages and an award of cost, interest, and attorneys fees on four counts alleging the district violated state and federal civil rights acts.
The district’s board of education held a closed session at Monday night’s regular meeting to discuss settlement in the case. However, Gordon Thomas said on Tuesday they couldn’t yet comment.
The Malicks ultimately pulled their daughter from the district’s high school early this year, citing mental and emotional distress.
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Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Cros-Lex Schools denies district 'problem' in reply to racial discrimination lawsuit
