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Lewisville ISD reviews racial discrimination claim after student’s discipline

The action comes after The Dallas Morning News reported that a Lakeview Middle School student was disciplined after talking about a concern.

Update:
This story has been updated with clarification from the district.

Lewisville school officials will hire a “neutral third party” to review allegations about racial discrimination that arose after a 13-year-old girl who thought she overheard a threat was punished.

The middle schooler said she overheard a classmate tell another boy not to come to campus the next day. The teen talked with friends and then her mother about what she heard. Administrators wanted to kick the young girl — who is Black — out of school for making a false accusation about school safety, according to an account of the girl’s experience The Dallas Morning News reported earlier this month.

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Asked who would be investigating and how much they would be paid, Lewisville ISD spokeswoman Amanda Brim said many details are yet to be determined. The probe will “fully investigate allegations of racial discrimination,” she noted.

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“A thorough investigation into claims of racial discrimination will take place,” Brim said. “Because the investigation has not yet begun, it would not be appropriate to speculate on what will be reviewed.”

Chantell Upshaw, Lewisville’s chief of middle schools, wrote to Lakeview Middle School families in a Wednesday email updating them on the situation, while noting officials were limited in what they could say because of federal privacy laws.

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Upshaw wrote that “it is important for me to address the claim that the situation was racially motivated.”

“In light of a recently submitted grievance related to this situation, which formally alleges racial discrimination, the district is hiring a neutral third party with no connection to the district to review this situation,” she wrote. “We will communicate further with you once that investigation is finalized.”

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The News is not naming the girl because she is a minor.

The girl said she was in gym class when she heard a classmate say, “Don’t come to school tomorrow.” After school let out, she messaged friends in two group chats before reporting the situation to her mother, Lisa Youngblood.

The Lakeview administration quickly got wind of the situation when it happened in late January, and called Youngblood to hear her daughter’s account. Police investigated the matter that evening and determined there was no threat to campus safety.

But because of how the girl processed her fears — telling her friends in group messages instead of immediately reporting it to an adult at school or through the anonymous tip reporting system — the administration disciplined her. She was punished for making a false accusation about school safety.

She was initially given three days of suspension, followed by a 73-day assignment to alternative school. Lakeview Assistant Principal Sharla Samples said the girl’s action had a “great impact.”

“Several people were scared about the safety of the school because her messages started spreading. Communication had to be sent out to the whole school community … which in itself worried some parents,” the administrator is heard saying in a recording of a discipline hearing obtained by The News.

Shocked at the severity of the discipline, Youngblood twice appealed the decision. She won, and her daughter was recently allowed to return to Lakeview.

As part of her appeal, Youngblood also probed the racial disparities in Lewisville ISD discipline.

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Black students represent 12% of Lewisville’s student population, but nearly one-third of alternative school placements involved Black students last school year.

Youngblood has since filed a formal complaint against the school administrators.

Upshaw’s email to families pushed back on the idea the girl was punished for reporting.

“Please reinforce with your children — if you see something, immediately say something to a trusted adult,” she wrote. “We routinely praise students for coming forward with a concern, even if after a thorough investigation it is determined no threat existed.”

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The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.