The Biden administration is cracking down on horrific discrimination in two Texas school districts

The U.S. Department of Education has found discrimination in one and is investigating discrimination in another Texas school district. Both school districts have faced heavy accusations of racist and anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry within their schools.

The investigation into Carroll Independent School District (CISD) in Southlake, Texas has concluded that the school’s students suffered intense discrimination as outlined in their NAACP-backed complaints. 

Related:

Parent tries to ban Michelle Obama book from Texas school district for promoting “reverse racism”

The push comes as conservative parents around the country fight to ban books about race and LGBTQ identities from schools.

In the other case, Katy Independent School District (KISD) in Katy, Texas has an investigation just beginning that will determine whether the school’s gender identity policies constitute a violation of federal anti-discrimination guidelines.

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

“Hopefully it sets a precedent for the kids that are currently there and kids who will be there years from now that these things will never happen again, and if they do, they’ll be dealt with appropriately,” said Raven Rolle, a Black CISD graduate and member of Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition.

Students at CISD have, according to the discrimination complaint, been subject to intense discrimination, with hundreds of testimonies. One student was called the n-word and “porch monkey,” and after telling faculty what happened he was called a “snitch” and bombarded with additional insults. Other students were called “f***ot,” “b**ch,” “the help,” among many other slurs. 

One student was even physically assaulted for being nonbinary. The school was notified but did nothing, and again these students were retaliated against by peers. Some students even had to withdraw from the school.

Mia Mariani, a transgender student at CISD, reported that she was a victim of bullying for her identity. She secretly recorded a meeting with her principal, who had dismissed the bullying as students who “were just wanting to debate” her. Additional appeals to faculty resulted in more dismissals.

The investigation into KISD is occurring because of school district policies. There is a forced outing policy at the school, where faculty are required to notify parents if they catch wind of any students identifying as transgender or using different names or pronouns.

This has led many students to go by their deadname among faculty out of fear of being outed to their families.

The school’s policies also deny teaching students about “gender fluidity” and ban transgender integration into their preferred sports teams.

“Elected solely on platforms to target marginalized students, far-right school board candidates accomplished exactly what they were elected to do: weaponize identity and neglect students’ educational needs,” said Students Engaged in Advancing Texas member Cameron Samuels.

Marginalized CISD students and their families have been engaging in a fight against the rampant discrimination in the school district since at least 2018 when a viral video emerged of white students chanting the n-word. Since then, volunteers at the school have been working to address the bigotry found within the district – with much backlash from conservatives.

Conservatives have attacked these efforts as being part of a “far-left agenda,” and after providing thousands in funding for new candidates, swamped the school board with far-right political activists.

KISD has been alleged to have a similar history, having a controversy back in 2022 when parents tried to ban the biography of former First Lady Michelle Obama from the school. However, some faculty are not abiding by the policies in question. 

Alastair Parker, member of the Cinco Ranch High School Gender-Sexuality Alliance, said, “If a child’s not telling their parents something like that, it’s for a reason,” he said. “I know that most of the people who are in favor of this are the ones who bounce off whatever their parents have told them to repeat.”

Don't forget to share: