KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kearney High School student or former student is suing the district for racial discrimination.
The plaintiff, not named in court documents, was a student at the high school for at least the 2018 and 2019 school years.
The lawsuit alleges that the student, as well as his sister, experienced racial discrimination, him at the high school and her at the junior high school.
The incidents outlined in the suit include being called racial slurs, social media posts that used slurs and referenced the student and direct messages from anonymous social media accounts harassing the student, in addition to other instances.
"The video had an immediate, visceral, emotional impact on the Plaintiff, who contacted his parents as soon as he saw the video, and in tears, told them he believed the white students were trying to incite violence against him. He said could not take it anymore," the lawsuit said of one specific incident.
In the lawsuit, the student alleges that such incidents were reported to staff and administration and he was either told to ignore the incidents, report them to police or the incidents went unaddressed entirely.
The lawsuit argues that the conduct of students and staff at the school constituted a violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act because the student was harassed and denied access to public accommodations.
In response, the district said it could not comment on the lawsuit.
"Kearney School District does not comment publicly on active or pending legal cases. The district will respond as appropriate within the court system," a statement from the district said. "KSD is committed fully to ensuring that every student can learn in an environment free of discrimination in any form."
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