Case Updates
August 4, 2022
School Race Discrimination Lawsuit Brought by Students Represented by Nichols
Kaster and Madia Newville Survives Summary Judgment and Can Go to Trial
Two Minnesota students have defeated their former school district’s
motion for
summary judgment in their race discrimination case. On August 1, 2022, United States District
Court Judge Michael J. Davis of the District of Minnesota denied the motion
by Eastern Carver County Schools, allowing the students’ case to
proceed to trial.
The students, who are both Black, brought this case in 2019, alleging that
the racially hostile environment and discrimination they experienced at
the school district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution pursuant to Section 1983. They alleged that the school district
allowed racism to permeate its schools for years, with students of color
being attacked by their peers with slurs, including the N-word, “monkey,”
and “Fat Albert.” They saw their faces imposed on a social
media image titled “Negro Hill.” Swastikas were drawn on school
property, and students repeatedly engaged in blackface, an incident that
even made it into the school yearbook. Throughout it all, the students
allege the district failed to take any meaningful action in response to
parents’ and students’ repeated complaints and exhibited clear
bias in favor of white students. Both students suffered emotional trauma
and substantial disruption to their education and ultimately left the district.
But now, after nearly three years of litigation, the district’s attempt
to avoid trial on these issues has been defeated. “Our clients have
displayed incredible bravery in sharing their painful and deeply personal
stories to seek accountability,” said the students’ attorney
Anna P. Prakash of Nichols Kaster, PLLP. “This case continues to
demonstrate how students have a powerful voice in seeking change and advocating
for public schools to be a place where
all students can safely learn and thrive.”
The Plaintiffs are represented by Matthew H. Morgan, Anna P. Prakash, Laura
A. Baures, and Melanie A. Johnson of Nichols Kaster, PLLP, and Joshua
A. Newville of Madia Newville LLC. The case is
T.B., et al. v. Independent School District 112, a/k/a Eastern Carver County Schools, 0:19-cv-02414, and is filed in the United States District Court for the
District of Minnesota.
August 3, 2022
Plaintiffs Defeat School District’s Motion for Summary Judgment
On August 1, 2022, Judge Michael J. Davis of the U.S. District Court for
the District of Minnesota denied the school district’s motion for
summary judgment and ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Plaintiffs’
claims of race discrimination to proceed to trial.
You can view the summary judgment order
here.
September 3, 2019
Chaska Families Represented by Nichols Kaster, PLLP and Madia Law LLC File
Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Eastern Carver County School District
for Rampant Race Discrimination
On September 3, 2019, six African-American students, through their parents,
filed a civil rights lawsuit against Independent School District 112 a/k/a
Eastern Carver County Schools, alleging severe and pervasive racism at
the district’s Chaska, Minnesota schools. The lawsuit alleges that
the district allowed racism to permeate its schools for years with African-American
students having been called “monkey,” told they “don’t
belong,” physically assaulted, racially profiled, called the “N
word,” and even threatened to be killed. The lawsuit walks through
each of the six student’s experiences in the district, cataloguing
horrific acts of racism by white students and the district’s deliberate
indifference to the same. The lawsuit alleges that the district failed
to take any meaningful action in response to parents’ and students’
repeated complaints and exhibited clear bias in favor of white students.
As a result, the students have suffered emotional trauma and substantial
disruption to their education, and several have left the district out
of fear for their physical, personal, and educational well-being. Seeking
change, the students brought this suit under Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution pursuant to Section 1983.
"Our public schools are supposed to respect and keep children safe
while creating an educational environment in which they can thrive. That
didn’t happen for African-American students in Chaska,” said
Plaintiffs’ attorney Anna P. Prakash of Nichols Kaster, PLLP. “Our
clients tried and continue to try to get help from the administration,”
said Prakash, “But, with all they have experienced and because meaningful
change has not happened, they filed this lawsuit. Given the racial tensions
in the district, these students and their parents are incredibly brave.
We are honored to represent them.”
The Plaintiffs are represented by Matthew H. Morgan, Anna P. Prakash, and
Laura A. Baures of Nichols Kaster, PLLP, and Joshua A. Newville of Madia
Law LLC. The case is
T.B., et al. v. Independent School District 112, a/k/a Eastern Carver County Schools, 0:19-cv-02414, and is filed in the United States District Court for the
District of Minnesota.