500 signatures reached
To: Lee Merritt, Ben Crump, Tamika Mallory, NAACP, Shaun King
Justice for my daughter and her schools unjust response to her being racially attacked.
I'm contacting you regarding an incident my daughter experienced at her school Richardson Prep Hi Middle School. She was verbally attacked by a student using racial slurs and she asked the student to stop to the point that she felt like she needed to defend herself. In the classroom the teacher stepped out of the room and left the children unattended during this racial situation. The bigger issue is when the school decided to address the issue they decided to use an excessive level of discipline for my daughter. The discipline included 10 days of suspension/ probation and a referral in her record. When I expressed concern I received little to no response from the district to address my concerns. Additionally, a letter was sent out to all students and parents addressing my daughter as the aggressor. The school never reached out in concern to assist my daughter but only wanted me to take down a social media post because of the backlash they are experiencing. One of the leaders in the district told us to delete a social media post in order to proceed. I am seeking assistance with advocacy with the change in policy in the SBCUSD. Legal counsel regarding these matters, a public apology from Richardson Prep Middle school and the district. Changes in the California education code and children needing parents approval in order to give statements and not be coerced to write anything down under pressure. Also, my family is requesting restitution for the emotionally damage this has been cause to my daughter and the cost of counseling that we will incur to support her through this matter.
Why is this important?
Change is important when enough people stand up to fight for the change. My daughter is not the first student at this school to be racially victimized. As a parent I stand with my daughter to help other children along the way. More changes need to be made to the Education system and I will fight for it with every breath in me. More schools need Equity, Access, Inclusion and Diversity on their "intervention" teams and schools to give children the fair and equal opportunity to learn in a conducive environment. If you have a child, grandchild, friend and relative that has experienced this at any level but you didn't know how to assist? This is the opportunity to take a stand for every child in education. Thank you! Mom