Latino parents sue schools in Brewster
Eight Latino parents have sued the Brewster, Wash., school district, its superintendent and a principal in federal court, alleging racial discrimination.
The civil rights complaint stems from a Nov. 6, 2003, meeting in the library of the combined junior and senior high school, in which 27 Latino students were singled out for discipline by Brewster Junior High School Principal Randy Phillips, who was concerned about recent fights that he believed were the result of “gang activity.”
The students’ parents, including plaintiffs in the civil rights complaint, were not told of the meeting, which was “designed to target Latino students because of their race and national origin,” according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 20.
At the meeting, the students were accused of gang activity and forced to sign a disciplinary contract that any future violation of school rules or “involvement in gangs” would be grounds for immediate expulsion or suspension.
No Anglo students were required to attend the meeting, even though school officials were aware of an Anglo gang, the “Orchard Monkey Killers,” whose name contains a derogatory reference to Latino agricultural workers, according to the lawsuit.
An account of the library meeting was published in the Feb. 1, 2004, editions of The Spokesman-Review. Brewster is south of Omak in Okanogan County.
Phillips and Superintendent Jim Kelly were named in the suit, which also alleges that they and the district have failed to take appropriate steps to ease discrimination in the school despite being put on notice that the problem has existed in the district for many years.
“It’s time they were held accountable for their actions,” said Maria Rodriguez Salazar, regional vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which organized Latino parents in Brewster during the winter of 2003-2004.
“These parents are seeking justice and accountability in the school district,” Rodriguez Salazar said. “Their goal is to see that other children that are still there will have a safe, nurturing and welcoming environment.”
In August 2004, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found the district in violation of Latino students’ civil rights.
Despite the notice, the lawsuit said, “Defendants have allowed divisiveness and segregation of the student body to flourish.”
Neither defendants nor plaintiffs were immediately available for comment on the civil rights complaint Friday afternoon.
The lawsuit filed last week seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief, which includes a long list of actions the defendants are asking the court to take to ensure racial equality in the Brewster School District. They include appropriate training of teachers and use of academic materials and curriculum, as well as development of a strategy for eliminating “the racially hostile learning environment.”