Civil rights complaint accuses Green Bay school district of violating white student's rights
Civil rights complaint accuses Green Bay school district of violating white student's rights
A Wisconsin law firm has filed a civil rights complaint against the Green Bay Area Public School District after previously alleging that a child was denied access to resources due to his race.
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty alleged in a Dec. 9 letter to the district that Green Bay King Elementary School parent Colbey Decker's son, who has dyslexia, was denied access to literacy resources because he is white. The law firm followed up with a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Jan. 28.
WILL cited the Trump administration's directive for local educational agencies that receive federal funds, like Green Bay schools, to comply with colorblind treatment as decided in 2023's Supreme Court decision reversing affirmative action.
"WILL has issued a report and called on the Trump Administration to investigate claims of race discrimination in K-12 schools, and we hope that this is the first case they resolve," stated a news release from WILL.
The complaint is based on King's student success plan, which states that 'intentional work educating our focus students, prioritizing additional resources to First Nations, Black and Hispanic students" is a high priority for literacy. It alleges King principal Matt Malcore told Decker the district's "priority groups," who have traditionally underperformed, receive services first.
Since the original letter was sent, the complaint was investigated as a discrimination complaint by the district's discrimination and Title IX coordinator, Abby Tilkens, according to the complaint. The complaint states that the district's investigation concluded that special education referrals could take place only after a specific round of interventions and that dyslexia on its own is not a specific learning disability. WILL stated that is untrue, as defined by Wisconsin law. The district did not respond to requests for clarification by the time of publication.
The complaint also alleges that the district's investigation into the issue was biased, and that the investigator did not seek out district data regarding distribution of resources based on race. It states Tilkens also acts as an attorney representing the district.
It also maintains the district did not meet special education law needs relating to Decker's son's dyslexia. The complaint cites requests by Decker for her son to receive an individualized education program and allegations that the district did not meet its obligation to conduct an evaluation.
More: Wisconsin law firm accuses Green Bay School District of violating civil rights of a white student
The district declined to comment on the allegations; district communications director Lori Blakeslee said the district had not yet received the official complaint from the Office of Civil Rights.
WILL originally asked the district to rescind the student success plan, adopt a colorblind approach to resource allocation and provide immediate and adequate reading support to Decker's son. The district reportedly declined to take any action, according to the complaint.
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
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