JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that after receiving reports of religious and race-based discrimination occurring in Missouri schools, he directed letters to three school districts ordering them to immediately cease and desist discriminatory practices against their students and staff.
“This is about protecting the constitutional rights of all Missourians to be free from discrimination,” said Attorney General Bailey. “As the chief legal officer for the State of Missouri, I am prepared to exercise my office’s full authority under the law, including the Missouri Human Rights Act, to ensure no Missouri school district discriminates against its students or staff. As long as I’m Attorney General, discrimination will be dead on arrival in this state.”
In his letter to Lindbergh School District, Attorney General Bailey noted it was brought to his attention that the district has instituted a race-based criteria for students seeking to enter the gifted program. “According to reports my office has received, the program’s traditional pathway to entry requires a student to score in the 95th national percentile on at least one screener or standardized test (math or reading) and in at least the 85th percentile on the other. Alternatively, students who are part of an underrepresented racial or ethnic population in the district are only required to achieve standardized test scores in the 84th percentile on one test (math or reading) and in the 50th percentile on the other before being considered for additional testing. The district’s policy states that its goal is to reach a 20% equity index for underrepresented student populations. If these reports are true, Lindbergh School District is discriminating on the basis of race, in direct violation of both state and federal law,” he wrote.
In his letter to Parkway School District, Attorney General Bailey asserted he has received reports that the district is preventing students from forming religious-based clubs like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, prohibiting them from using the campus announcement system, hanging posters or holding meetings on campus. “State and federal law prohibit religious discrimination in schools. In addition, the district’s policies also prohibit religious discrimination… If the reports are true, Parkway Schools is violating all three, and must cease its unlawful behavior immediately,” he pointed out.
In his letter to Webster Groves School District, Attorney General Bailey pointed out his office has received reports that the district has instituted race-based criteria for its employees and applicants. “If these reports are true, Webster Groves is discriminating on the basis of race in direct violation of both state and federal law. Racial discrimination is illegal in the United States. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer may not refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate, against employees of candidates because of their race… Classifying employees and applicants based on race and using this information to make hiring decisions would violate the law,” he wrote.
General Bailey ordered the districts to immediately cease and desist their allegedly discriminatory practices, with the promise that he will use his full authority under the law to ensure Missouri students and staff are free from such treatment.
The letter to Lindbergh School District can be viewed here.
The letter to Parkway School District can be viewed here.
The letter to Webster Groves School District can be viewed here.