On July 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into this complaint. See the letter here.
On April 21, 2022, Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Pickens Middle School in Pickens, South Carolina, part of the School District of Pickens County, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint claims the school is breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in programs that receive federal funds.
On April 15, 2022, the school held “lunch and learn” sessions with a guest speaker, Adrienne Young. According to an email sent to families, the sessions were meant to “give Mrs. Young the chance to talk with students about how to cope with being a student in a predominantly white school.” The school held separate sessions for African American students, Hispanic students, and students of “Two or More” races. It offered no sessions for white or Asian students, and it never said the sessions were open to everyone.
Defending Education urges the Department to investigate every claim in its complaint, fix the school’s illegal policies and practices, and order the right remedies.
Read the full complaint below:
