RESOLVED: On May 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights closed this complaint as resolved. The district said the group would not limit membership by race and updated the school newsletter to make clear that “all are welcome” to join. See the letter here.
On April 7, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into this complaint. See the letter here.
On January 3, 2023, Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Shelburne Community School of Champlain Valley Unified School District with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. DE claimed the school was breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. It also claimed the school was violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bars government bodies, including public schools, from treating people differently because of their race except in rare cases.
The school’s weekly newsletter announced plans for an “opt-in racial affinity group for students in grades 3-8 identifying as Black, Indigenous, or people of color.” Students of other races would have been left out because of their race.
Read the full complaint and see its evidence below:
