Attorneys for two Southlake families are pressing the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to release findings from an investigation into civil rights violations in the Carroll Independent School District.
The demand stems from complaints dating back to 2021 alleging race and sex discrimination within the district. According to the families, students endured racial slurs, sexist harassment and physical attacks with little or no intervention from school officials. In one case, a student was allegedly called the N-word and other degrading terms. Another student allegedly faced both verbal and physical harassment.
The OCR completed its investigation into the complaints in September 2023 but has not yet released its findings. The Legal Defense Fund and law firm Arnold & Porter are calling for the results to be made public by Dec. 31, warning in a letter to the OCR that further delays could ruin trust in the office and leave the complaints unresolved.
“Complainants and the Southlake community deserve the transparency and closure that official OCR findings will provide,” the letter reads.
Earlier this year, the parents held a news conference in which they called on CISD leaders to acknowledge the result of the investigation, which attorneys said determined the complaints to be valid. At the time, local advocacy groups like the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition and Cultural & Racial Equity for Every Dragon said the district's neglect promoted a hostile environment for marginalized students.
When asked for comment, Carroll ISD referred to an October resolution denouncing the investigation. The district said in August it had reached an impasse with federal investigators seeking to negotiate a resolution, and that after its own “exhaustive review” of case files, “we have concluded that our teachers, counselors, principals, and administrators fully complied with the law in each case and protected our students.”
The families and their legal representatives emphasize that the OCR’s delay in releasing its findings prolongs harm to students and sends a harmful message about accountability in civil rights enforcement.
Zara Amaechi is KERA’s Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis fellow covering race and social justice. Got a tip? Email Zara at zamaechi@kera.org. You can follow her on X @amaechizara.
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