On November 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into this complaint. See the letter here.
On May 18, 2023, Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Webster Groves School District in Webster Groves, Missouri, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint claims the district is breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in programs that receive federal funds, and Title IX, a law that bans sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds. It also claims the district is violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bars government bodies, including public schools, from treating people differently because of their race or sex except in rare cases.
A flyer for the district’s “Renaissance Girls Group” shows that the group was open only to students who are both female and students of color. That means students were shut out of the group’s meetings and activities based on both their race and their sex.
Defending Education urges the Department to investigate every claim in its complaint, fix the district’s illegal policies and practices, and order the right remedies.
Read the full complaint and see its evidence below:
