OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A complaint has been filed against the Oshkosh Area School District on behalf of two middle school students who say they were expelled when they were racially harassed at school.
The ACLU of Wisconsin filed the complaint earlier this week with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights asking them to investigate the district.
The complaint alleges that two Black siblings, seventh-grader TreVon Swan, and his sister, six-grader Karizmah Keys, were subject to persistent racial harassment while attending Oshkosh Area School District schools and that the District and school administrators failed to address the racial harassment they were subjected to or investigate the incidents fully.
The complaint goes on to say that when the students’ mother brought it to the attention of school officials, they did not investigate the allegations and instead ignored the students’ claims.
According to ACLU of Wisconsin, things escalated last year at a Halloween dance when a white student who had racially harassed Karizmah instigated a conflict with a group of Black students by throwing water on them and calling them racial slurs. The other Black students, including Karizmah, voiced their frustration at the incident, as TreVon was being punished, but the student who harassed them was not. Seven Black students were ultimately referred for expulsion as a result of the events at the dance.
School administrators also called the police and referred juvenile charges of disorderly conduct against TreVon and Karizmah, as well as other Black students. The white student was not punished by school administrators, nor were charges referred to the police for the student, the complaint states.
In response to the complaint, the Oshkosh Area School District sent out the following statement:
To date, the Oshkosh Area School District has not received any complaint filed by the ACLU and therefore is not in a position to comment further on any such complaint.
The District, however, does maintain a specific policy for addressing matters of pupil discrimination and to date, no complaint under this policy has been filed by the ACLU or by the family referenced in their press release.
The District can confirm that the ACLU has appeared in a student expulsion matter and that upon full hearing by an independent hearing officer, a student was expelled for endangering the property, health, and safety of others while at school and for repeated rule violations. The ALCU did appeal that decision to the State Department of Public Instruction which upheld the expulsion decision.
The District remains committed to providing a safe environment for all students and takes any claims of discriminatory acts very seriously.
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