A Wisconsin school denied extra reading help to a white dyslexic student because of his race, according to a conservative legal firm.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) said this week that a young boy attending King Elementary School in Green Bay was discriminated against because of a policy that prioritized literacy help to black, Hispanic, and American Indian students. WILL says that the policy, found in its “school success” plan, violates federal civil rights law and should be scrapped.
The policy in question details that part of the school’s action plan should be “intentional work educating our focus students, prioritizing additional resources to First Nations, Black, and Hispanic students.”
Colbey Decker told WILL that when she attempted to get extra reading help for her son because of his dyslexia, he was put on a waiting list for almost a year before he got help as part of a group. WILL says that Decker’s child would have been given individualized help if he had been black or Hispanic.
“The school implied to me that my child would already be receiving one-on-one reading support if he were Black, Hispanic, or First Nation,” Decker said after reaching out to the school’s principal about the policy. “I was speechless. I think we need to help every student in need, and using the guise of ‘diversity’ simply creates more division and hurts all students.”
In a letter to the Green Bay Public School District, WILL called for the policy to be ended.
“This policy, while purporting to address disparities, discriminates against students of other races who are equally in need of support,” WILL lawyers Cory Brewer and Dan Lennington wrote. “Race is used both as a negative and as a stereotype, in violation of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The district’s policy fails to treat students as individuals and disregards their unique needs.”
Brewer told The Daily Wire that the firm was considering different legal responses to the policy, including filing a lawsuit or federal complaint. She said that the best-case scenario would be that the policy is rescinded and replaced with a colorblind standard that treats every student equally.
“The school where our client’s son attends has a written plan that explicitly says additional resources will be prioritized to certain students based on race,” she told The Daily Wire. “Obviously, that means that other students are considered not a priority.”
CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
The school district denied that the race-based policy was in place at the district level in a statement to Fox.
“The District received the letter from WILL yesterday and we are investigating the allegations. However, we can state unequivocally that the District does not have a policy that includes the language included in the letter,” the district said. “All District policies must be approved by the Board of Education and no such policy language exists.”
Brewer told The Daily Wire that she was optimistic that the federal civil rights laws would be able to be applied to similar cases with the incoming Trump administration.
“With the Trump administration coming in, we hope to have an opportunity for Title VI to be enforced in a way that ensures all individuals, such as our client’s son, to be treated as individuals and for students who need help to get help without regard to race,” she said.
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A Wisconsin school denied extra reading help to a white dyslexic student because of his race, according to a conservative legal firm.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) said this week that a young boy attending King Elementary School in Green Bay was discriminated against because of a policy that prioritized literacy help to black, Hispanic, and American Indian students. WILL says that the policy, found in its “school success” plan, violates federal civil rights law and should be scrapped.
The policy in question details that part of the school’s action plan should be “intentional work educating our focus students, prioritizing additional resources to First Nations, Black, and Hispanic students.”
Colbey Decker told WILL that when she attempted to get extra reading help for her son because of his dyslexia, he was put on a waiting list for almost a year before he got help as part of a group. WILL says that Decker’s child would have been given individualized help if he had been black or Hispanic.
“The school implied to me that my child would already be receiving one-on-one reading support if he were Black, Hispanic, or First Nation,” Decker said after reaching out to the school’s principal about the policy. “I was speechless. I think we need to help every student in need, and using the guise of ‘diversity’ simply creates more division and hurts all students.”
In a letter to the Green Bay Public School District, WILL called for the policy to be ended.
“This policy, while purporting to address disparities, discriminates against students of other races who are equally in need of support,” WILL lawyers Cory Brewer and Dan Lennington wrote. “Race is used both as a negative and as a stereotype, in violation of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The district’s policy fails to treat students as individuals and disregards their unique needs.”
Brewer told The Daily Wire that the firm was considering different legal responses to the policy, including filing a lawsuit or federal complaint. She said that the best-case scenario would be that the policy is rescinded and replaced with a colorblind standard that treats every student equally.
“The school where our client’s son attends has a written plan that explicitly says additional resources will be prioritized to certain students based on race,” she told The Daily Wire. “Obviously, that means that other students are considered not a priority.”
CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
The school district denied that the race-based policy was in place at the district level in a statement to Fox.
“The District received the letter from WILL yesterday and we are investigating the allegations. However, we can state unequivocally that the District does not have a policy that includes the language included in the letter,” the district said. “All District policies must be approved by the Board of Education and no such policy language exists.”
Brewer told The Daily Wire that she was optimistic that the federal civil rights laws would be able to be applied to similar cases with the incoming Trump administration.
“With the Trump administration coming in, we hope to have an opportunity for Title VI to be enforced in a way that ensures all individuals, such as our client’s son, to be treated as individuals and for students who need help to get help without regard to race,” she said.
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