The parents of four students that were suspended from an Ohio school have filed suit against the school district and police officers for alleged constitutional violations. In all, fourteen students were accused of making off campus rap videos that school officials claim to evidence hand gestures and other elements that are synonymous with purported gang involvement.
As detailed in this article, the suit alleges that based on imagery and evidence collected by the school’s administration, “school administrators accused more than a dozen African-American students of making ‘street signs’ and belonging to a ‘gang.”
Attorney for the Plaintiffs Robert Newnan accuses the school of ignoring identical behavior by white students, stating, “This case is about racial stereotyping.”
Attorney for the district stated that fourteen students were suspended in April for threats made at school and through social media against other students and school staff, “this is about reasonable school rules that were violated in a serious way.” Not stating specifically what rules were broken by the students, the violations “were severely interfering with the school operation and threatened the safety of some students.”
If you or someone you know believes their civil rights have been violated, the team at Radford & Keebaugh can help. Contact us by phone at (678) 369-3609 or use our contact form.