SOUTHLAKE, Texas (AP) — A Texas school district is under civil rights investigation amid allegations of discrimnation based on race and sexual orientation.
The Civil Rights office of the U.S. Department of Education is conducting three investigations involving the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
“We can confirm that OCR has opened three investigations at the Carroll Independent School District into allegations related to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or sex,” a spokesman for the Department of Education wrote in an email.
Complaints begin from three years ago when two videos of white students chanting racial slurs went viral.
Another includes a lawsuit, which is still pending, against the district alleging that school board members, including former board president Michelle Moore, allegedly discussed the Cultural Competence Action plan in text messages which violates the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Most recently, Carroll’s administrator told teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also have books that offer “opposing” or “other” viewpoints on the subject.
Karen Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the school district, said in an email to the Star-Telegram that the district is fully cooperating with the investigations, but since the complaints involve students they are unable to provide or share any more specifics.