Judge restricts racism case against black students in Georgia school district

It was alleged that white students often wore Confederate paraphernalia, the judge noted in an Aug. 14 order. She said a plaintiff claimed the high school's assistant principal told them the Confederate flag was “not hateful toward anyone and did not cause discomfort to students” but served “the heritage.”

Among the racist social media posts by Coosa High School students was one that showed a male student kneeling on a classmate's neck “in an alleged George Floyd reenactment,” the school district acknowledged in a lawsuit, which said the male student was suspended after making another racist social media post.

The black students who sued the school district with their mothers in May 2022 filed five lawsuits under federal law, claiming the district demonstrated racial bias when it disciplined black students for their free speech while allowing other students to perpetuate racism.

The district asked the judge in December to dismiss the lawsuits, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to prove they violated federal law, and contended that the suspension of the students involved in the October 2021 protest was appropriate given their disruptive behavior and disregard for school rules.

In her ruling on August 14, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May dismissed three of the lawsuits but allowed two of them to proceed to trial. She also ordered the case to be settled in mediation.

May concluded that the district was not knowingly indifferent to harassment among students, although it could have done more to curb racism. She said some disciplinary decisions by school officials “may indicate poor judgment,” but that “every time a specific case of harassment was reported to teachers or other officials, there was a school response.”

The judge said the four plaintiffs who were suspended appeared to have been disciplined because of their actions, not their race. She noted that five white and one Hispanic student were also suspended in connection with the protest, while at least one black student who participated in the protest was not suspended.

A jury should decide whether the district violated free speech laws by suspending students who were involved in planning the protest, the judge said. She said whether the district improperly enforced its dress code by forcing black students to remove their “Black Lives Matter” and “George Floyd” shirts while allowing white students to wear “clothing bearing the Confederate flag” is also a jury question.

Harry Daniels, an attorney for the students, said the administration at Coosa High School and the Floyd County School District ignored racism, defended racists and punished black students.

“Whether in the classroom or the boardroom, racists and bullies have no place in our schools,” Daniels said in an Aug. 15 press release. “After all, it's 2024, not 1964.”

The school district and its attorneys in the case did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the judge's order Saturday.