COLUMBIA, Mo. — An official with the Columbia school district's gifted students program alleges in a lawsuit that the district discriminates against Black and Hispanic students when choosing who will be in the program.
Beth Winton, the teacher and program coordinator for the district's Extended Educational Experience program, contends the number of white and Asian students in the program resulted from manipulated data.
Winton oversees the gifted program for middle school and high school students, but most participants are chosen in elementary school.
In 2019-20, 77% of students in the gifted program were white, while white students were 59% of the student population. Nine percent of the program's students are Asian, while Asians are only 5% of the student population, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported [columbiatribune.com].
Conversely, less than 3% of students in the gifted program were Black, while they were 20% of the student population. Hispanic students were about 7% of the student population, but just over 3% of students in the gifted program were Hispanic.
Winton said she had been denied a promotion after she expressed her concerns to district officials and through the district's grievance process, including making a presentation to the Columbia Board of Education.
A compliance officer and the school board both determined district policy concerning the gifted program had not been violated.
While not commenting specifically on the lawsuit, district spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said the school system continually works to improve diversity in the gifted program. But she said the gifted program has to follow state guidelines for identifying and placing students.
She also said the district prohibits retaliation or discrimination against employees who make complaints.
Winton advocates adding students to the program through evidence-based assessments, but not at the expense of students chosen under the traditional identification plan using IQ tests and other factors, the lawsuit states.
The state guidelines for gifted programs include a section on alternate identification methods as a way of increasing diversity of students.
The lawsuit alleges that Terry Gaines, the former elementary gifted program director, usually placed students in the gifted program based on one test score and without supporting documentation. Most of those placed by Gaines were white and many of them were children of district employees, or of Columbia doctors, professors and other prominent community members, according to the lawsuit.
