CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A lawsuit filed by families of biracial children in Douglas County contains screenshots and logs of social media chats they hope will bring accountability and policy change in the district.
Three families are mentioned as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Douglas County School District and a principal at Castle Rock Middle School. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Colorado.
“...these students were regularly called the N-word, threatened with violence like lynchings and shootings, subjected to various racial and ethnic cleansing jokes, repeatedly called monkey and similar degrading epithets, exposed to ridicule and other forms of harassment by their peers…,” the lawsuit says.
On Thursday, two mothers named as plaintiffs spoke to 9NEWS about the lawsuit and what they hope will change in the district.
“And just to know…that his life could be threatened at any point in time, because someone just doesn't like him because of his skin color,” Alexis Clark said of her son during the interview.
Clark and Lacey Ganzy claimed Douglas County School District leaders failed to follow through with investigations after they complained about racist threats against their children.
Some of the threats have been captured in Snapchat logs and include references to lynching and shootings.
“So there's no protocol, if a child experiences something so gruesome as to be threatened, you know, to be lynched. I think a parent should receive a phone call,” Ganzy said.
The lawsuit also includes a letter Ganzy’s son sent to school leaders in March describing racism.
“They often use racial slurs near me and many others thinking it’s funny, and it makes me feel uncomfortable and unwanted in my school,” the letter says.
Ganzy claims school officials never responded to her son’s letter, along with other complaints by her family.
The Ganzy family has left Castle Rock since they started voicing their concerns, claiming their children became the subject of more bullying.
Other claims include one of Ganzy’s children being forced to debate on the side of slavery in a debate class and another who was accused of stealing a water bottle.
Ganzy said the school district needs to immediately investigate any allegations of hate crimes and racism and notify parents.
Clark said the district needs to increase diversity among staff so there will be more advocacy for students of color.
A spokesperson for the school district would not comment on the lawsuit.
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