Southlake schools are under more than half a dozen federal investigations over allegations that include racial discrimination, gender and sex discrimination and violating the rights of students with disabilities.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has at least eight open investigations into the Carroll school district, a department official confirmed Thursday.
Southlake school officials did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
The latest investigations were opened last month. One investigation that opened Jan. 19 investigation alleges a violation of federal law guaranteeing “free and appropriate public education” to a student with disabilities.
Another investigation opened Jan. 23 alleges retaliation, a civil rights violation, according to the department’s online database.
The latest investigations were first reported by NBC News and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Carroll schools have garnered increasing scrutiny over how the wealthy, mostly white district has handled issues around diversity, equity and inclusion.
In 2021, Southlake was the subject of a multipart NBC podcast, making it a national symbol of what the fight over critical race theory can look like in schools.
This time last year, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a civil rights complaint against Southlake schools, alleging that district officials continuously fail to protect students from discrimination based on race, sex or gender identity.
The complaints were filed on behalf of two community-based organizations — the Cultural & Racial Equity for Every Dragon and the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition — as well as individual students who said they experienced harassment, the group noted in a statement at the time.
“By forcing students to endure severe and pervasive race and sex harassment in order to access their education, school officials in CISD violate their duty under civil rights law to provide all students with a nondiscriminatory environment conducive to learning,” the organization wrote in a summary of the 2022 filing.
That complaint alleges that district officials have long known about the hostile environment students of color and LGBT students face. Those involved in the case reported being targets of slurs, threats and other poor treatment, according to the summary.
The NAACP’s complaints came just months after federal authorities opened three other civil rights investigations into the school district.
The initial complaints led the district to consider banning employees from recording meetings and prompted backlash from the conservative Southlake Families PAC, who called the education department “federal bullies.”
And still, the district has continued to stoke controversy. In December 2022, the majority conservative board of trustees struck references to gender identity, sexual orientation and religion from its nondiscrimination statement in its student code of conduct even as Superintendent Lane Ledbetter has apologized for being distracted by controversies.
Staff writer Talia Richman contributed to this report.
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