Lawsuit: Central Minnesota school district failed to address racist bullying

COLD SPRING, Minn. — A mother and her two high-schoolers have filed a lawsuit alleging staff at a central Minnesota school district didn’t do enough to address racist bullying by students.

In a complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court, Andrea Robinson and her children, who are Black, claim teachers and administrators at Rocori School District in Stearns County looked the other way as students used racial slurs in class and sent threatening messages on social media.

The lawsuit is the latest development in the school and community's reckoning with racism over the past year, and comes after district officials in May 2021 said they were committed to taking action on the issue. Robinson spoke out on her childrens’ struggles with racist bullying at a school board meeting that month, which was well-attended by supportive members of the public who urged the district to take action, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

With her daughter now attending a different school district, Robinson is seeking damages from Rocori schools for emotional suffering experienced by her daughter and son. The lawsuit claims violations of the Civil Rights Act, and does not specify damages sought.

Read more: https://www.postbulletin.com/parent-sues-central-minnesota-school-district-claims-staff-didnt-address-racism
(Rochester Post Bulletin)