White students sent messages fantasizing about killing African Americans while school principals ‘turned a blind eye’ and ignored rampant racism, lawsuit says

A U.S. District Judge has dismissed an attempt by a Colorado high school principal to exonerate himself from a civil rights lawsuit that alleges he was answerable for racially discriminating against black and mixed-race students at his school.

Castle Rock Middle School Principal John Veit argued that as a public official he was entitled to qualified immunity from legal charges that he “failed to prevent a conspiracy” amongst white students on the school to disclaim black students equal protection and access to an education under federal civil rights laws.

The 2023 lawsuit, filed by three families against Veit and the Douglas County School District, detailed horrific incidents of harassment, racial slurs and threats against their children. They alleged that there was a widespread pattern of racism and bullying within the district’s schools, and that school and district staff were aware of the discrimination and harm students were experiencing but didn’t do enough to stop it.

The criticism describes how black and biracial students, including 4 plaintiffs (identified as JG, NG, CM, and DC) at Douglas County High School and Castle Rock Middle School “were routinely called the N-word, threatened with violence such as lynching and shooting, subjected to various jokes about racial and ethnic cleansing, repeatedly called monkeys and similar derogatory epithets, subjected to taunts and other forms of harassment by peers, and forced by teachers to argue the benefits of Jim Crow laws.”

In his ruling last week, U.S. District Judge John Kane found that a federal conspiracy amongst students who were the plaintiffs’ peers was convincingly established by the allegations within the criticism, which “demonstrate a coordinated effort by students to humiliate, terrorize, and alienate” black and mixed-race students.

The judge noted among the allegations, including:

“One woman told four other students in front of CM that she hoped another black student would not join the class because ‘we already have one black guy in this class.’”

“One student called DC ‘monkey boy,’ and other students started laughing.”

“Students asked JG if he had chosen the cotton that his shirt was made of. Another student threw cotton balls at JG, laughing at him.”

“Students took photos of CM using the toilet without his knowledge and shared them widely on the internet.”

“At the end of Black History Month, one of the students approached JG and told him his month was over and he could go back to where he came from.”

The criticism also alleged that three students were racially harassed via a Snapchat group of greater than 100 students, where “racially offensive comments and threats of murder were common” and that students often tagged black students “to ensure they saw the disgusting messages.”

In one such message, Kane noted, “Two students were talking about eliminating African-Americans from the planet, with one of them stating that we should just remove black people from the planet” and bring back (the Holocaust).

The judge found that “without a doubt the complaint sufficiently proves the existence of … a conspiracy and Mr. Veit’s knowledge of that conspiracy.”

He cited the plaintiffs’ claims that a student had sent Veit an email about racist behavior by students and that after receiving the e-mail, “Mr. Veit admitted that he was aware that students of color experienced such discrimination.”

“I find Mr. Veit’s motion (to dismiss the case) to be without merit and accordingly I deny it,” Kane wrote.

Attorney Iris Halpern, who represents the families, said the court’s decision “should serve as a warning to other school officials across the country: If you know about systematic racist bullying and harassment and have the authority to stop it, and you don’t do it, you are violating our federal civil rights laws and you can be held individually liable,” CPR News reported. “Turning a blind eye or burying your head in the sand is not enough.”

“We are happy that the judge ruled that anyone who played a major role in the horrific racist bullying my children experienced can be held accountable,” said Lacey Ganzy, mother of Jeramiah Ganzy (JG within the lawsuit), who was 14 when he faced racism and bullying at Castle Rock Middle School. “We look forward to the continued development of this case and our final day in court.”

Ganzy said she filed the lawsuit last 12 months after the school district seemed indifferent to complaints from her son, in addition to her daughter Nevaeh, who was attending Douglas County High School on the time. Nevaeh testified at an April 2023 school board meeting that she was often called racial slurs and that a teacher asked her to argue in favor of Jim Crow laws during class. the Douglas County News-Press reported.

Ganza’s family has since moved to a different, “more diverse” school district. Two other student plaintiffs switched to online learning last 12 months but have since returned.

In the spring of 2023, the Douglas County School District was faced with the necessity to reply to the outcomes of the school climate survey.vey, which found wide racial disparities between student groups, CPR News reported.

The study found that 71 percent of white students felt they belonged at their school, while only 56 percent of black students did. Fourteen percent of white students said they’d been bullied on school grounds up to now 12 months, while 24 percent of black students did. And most significantly, 41 percent of black students had been punished, while 16 percent of white students did.

When asked Erin Kane, the school district’s superintendent, what training is being conducted to forestall the occurrence of racism and mitigate the results of systemic racism, she responded that the district is working on training as a part of a multi-year implementation plan.

At a May 2023 school board meeting, Kane said, “I want to reiterate how deeply sorry I am and the entire district is that we had a family experience with racist remarks from another student. Racism in any form is unacceptable in DCSD and is a direct violation of policy,” adding that multiple students have been suspended.

Other officials said students at Castle Rock High School attended presentations on bullying and harassment, and district leaders are working with the school on other strategies for next 12 months.

Ganzy was not impressed.

“I want them to be taught about black history,” she said. “I want them to not tolerate any discrimination. I want teachers to actively seek out this type of discrimination and know how to better deal with it.”

According to the criticism filed in August 2023, every student reported incidents of mistreatment to teachers and school staff, but school district staff either didn’t respond in any respect or didn’t take the reports seriously.

Only one student involved within the group chat was disciplined, and staff did not keep their word and create safety plans for students to return to in-person learning. The criticism also noted that the district did not implement anti-discrimination training for workers or students.

The lawsuit seeks “an injunction enjoining Defendants from engaging in unlawful practices that deprive themselves and other students of color of access to equal educational opportunities” and a jury trial to find out economic, compensatory and punitive damages.

This spring, Ganzy and her teenage children campaigned on the Colorado State Capitol for a recent law that might prevent bullying and discrimination in Colorado schools by improving reporting systems and training staff. CBS News reported.

Bill, SB 23-296that passed in June, “is basically everything we stood for,” Ganzy said. “It just makes sense. It just says, ‘Hey, if you do this, there are consequences for your actions, and there’s education behind it.’”

Ganzy said the bill clearly distinguishes between hate crimes and the bullying she sought. Schools have until July to start implementing the training.

The Douglas County School District said in a June statement that while its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies “largely align with the requirements” in the brand new laws, it’s “revising the board’s policies in light of the new law to further enhance the safety and well-being of all students.”

In reference to the continued lawsuit, the district stated, “DCSD disputes that administrators either facilitated or permitted harassment and discrimination against African-American students in order to continue attending school, or otherwise tolerated a racially hostile educational environment. Numerous reasonable actions were taken within the scope of the school administrator’s authority.”

Last week, Judge Kane ordered each side within the case to contact his office on August 13 to schedule a hearing date.