IV Teacher Photos Submitted of Disparate Discipline to African American Buena Vista students in
Predominantly White Bridgeport School District
The School Board acquired photos from a teacher. The Summary Complaint is not able to use anonymous
witness statements from individuals who do not at least have documentation. We have received documentation
from witnesses that we also cannot use because the documentation would not protect the identity of the witness,
which would mean the person might still be retaliated against. In this case, the teacher is taking photos of white
teachers disciplining black students in a disparate way because they are black. The students, we were told,
come from Buena Vista, the school district which the Governor dissolved. Now students must travel far ther, to
an area where they are not welcome. The teacher states that the students complain of being harassed and
traumatized. This includes being forced to stand outside instead of receiving instruction in the classroom for
imagined offenses. They are also locked in a closet as another form of discipline and forced to lie on the floor.
If the students are not welcome, and disciplined so that they miss instruction, they are being denied the right to a
free public education. If they are being harassed and disciplined differently because of their race, this is a
violation of Title VI. We are forwarding the information for investigation.
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