ACLU Claims Vermont School Failed To Protect Black Student
A Black female student at a Vermont school has accused the institution of failing to protect her from racially motivated bullying, threats, and harassment, according to a complaint filed with the Vermont Human Rights Commission by the ACLU.
The civil rights organization filed the complaint on Tuesday (December 21) on behalf of the student. According to NBC News, the grievance filed by the ACLU of Vermont accuses Twin Valley Middle High School in Whitingham of unlawfully depriving the student “of her right to have a school environment free of racial discrimination.”
“Our client was driven from her school after the people she turned to for help did nothing to support her and further emboldened her abusers,” ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Lyall said in a written statement, NBC News reports. “Racist harassment and bullying remain a common experience for students of color in Vermont, and the state has a responsibility to do much more to prevent incidents like these from recurring day after day and year after year.”
In an email sent out on Tuesday, Superintendent Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll disputed the allegations against the school administration and noted that the district maintains strict policies against harassment and is “committed to eliminating racism from our schools.” She also claimed families were notified when the harassment was sustained and appropriate disciplinary action was taken.
“The disciplinary actions taken by us were effective. No student repeated the race-based misconduct,” she said.
According to NBC News, the unnamed student was the only Black student and also a new 10th grade student at the school in 2020-2021 when she experienced harassment and discrimination, including racial slurs, references to white supremacy and threats of physical violence.
The ACLU’s complaint alleges that school officials were made aware of a male student who called the Black 10th-grader a slur in front of a teacher and a classroom in December 2020. A group of male students also directed the Nazi salute at her while yelling the slur at her in the hallway in February.
The complaint also says that in March, a Snapchat video surfaced of a group of male students yelling the slur and “Burn, Burn, Burn!” and that they hope the student “burns in hell.”
As a result, the student dropped out of school sports, her grades fell and developed anxiety and depression. Fearing for her safety, the ACLU says she ultimately transferred to another school.
