DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Justice started an investigation into the Douglas County School District this week, after several complaints were filed over the past few years alleging racial discrimination toward students.
The complaints claim the district has systemic issues with racial discrimination, harassment and abusive practices used on students with disabilities. DOJ investigators were in Colorado between Jan. 13 and Jan.15, meeting with parents, students and community members to hear their stories.
The complaints started in 2022, when Disability Law Colorado filed a complaint on behalf of an 8-year-old student with disabilities. Emily Harvey, the legal director of Disability Law Colorado, said the district frequently placed the student in a closet, which they called a "calming room."
"The parent wasn't being told about the instances of seclusion that were happening, and that was very concerning," Harvey said.
The complaint claimed that the "calming room" was used around four times a day and the student would spend up to 55 minutes shut in the room.
"For a small child, seclusion is the equivalent of being put into solitary confinement or prison," Harvey said. "It's very traumatic and not a great way for addressing these challenges that we're seeing in schools."
Disability Law Colorado said data from the state showed 909 cases of restraints being used on Douglas County students during the 2021-22 school year. Of those cases, 88% were students with disabilities.
Racial discrimination will also be a key part of the investigation. In 2023, four students filed a complaint against DCSD, claiming their fellow students were using racial slurs and threatening them with violence.
Denver7 spoke to one of the students in 2023, Jeramiah Ganzy, who was a 14-year-old Castle Rock Middle School student at the time. Ganzy said the racism was so egregious, he finished the school year online.
"It got the worst on the bus and in school. They'd be calling me, like, a monkey, the N-word. At the end of Black History Month, they were telling me it wasn't my month anymore,” Ganzy said.
The complaint claimed that DCSD acted with "callous indifference" in response to the racial harassment.
DCSD sent us the following statement in response to the allegations and investigation:
"Our focus is on taking care of each and every one of our students in the Douglas County School District (DCSD). Any student or parent who has a concern should report it immediately to their school leader or DCSD’s Compliance Office. We take every concern very seriously as we are dedicated to ensuring that all of our students and staff experience a welcoming and caring environment in our schools."
Denver7 also reached out to the DOJ about the investigation, but they declined to comment.
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