Justice Department investigates Idaho school district’s clothing policy. Here’s why
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Nampa School District over allegations that the district’s dress code policies discriminate against Latino students, the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho filed a complaint last year against the district that said its dress code policies were vague and the district disproportionately disciplined Latino students. The organization alleged the district, one of the largest in the state, violated a federal civil rights policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
“They’re just expressing themselves as Latinos, as Chicanos, as brown people, and they’re there to learn,” ACLU spokesperson Rebecca De León told the Idaho Statesman. “They’re being taught at a very young age that racism is something that they have to deal with that their colleagues do not have to deal with. That shouldn’t be what we are teaching our kids.”
DOJ spokesperson Adam Cyr confirmed an investigation into the Nampa School District in an email but declined to comment further. Investigations can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year to complete, Cyr said, depending on the number of complaints and complexity.
Nampa School District spokesperson Matthew Sizemore declined to comment because of the pending investigation and pointed the Statesman to a statement the district made last year, after the ACLU released a report alleging discrimination.
“We are … deeply committed to creating schools and a community that are free from any form of gang activity,” the district’s statement said. “We want to emphasize that at no point have we endorsed or supported any practices that discriminate against any of our students.”
ACLU says Nampa policies had ‘sweeping discretion’
The ACLU published a report last summer that said the Caldwell and Nampa school districts’ enforcement of “gang” dress codes punish Latino students. About 40% of students in the Nampa School District and 62% in the Caldwell School District are Hispanic or Latino, according to the Idaho Department of Education.
The Nampa policy on gangs prohibits students from wearing any items that are “evidence of” affiliation with any gang.
The report found some schools, including Lone Star Middle and South Middle, have enforced a ban on Catholic rosaries. The district has also punished students who wear “Brown pride” clothing and types of clothing connected to their cultural identity, such as cholo style originating from Chicano culture, according to the complaint.
The ACLU complaint, filed on behalf of Latino students and two staff members in the Nampa School District, included the experiences of families who said their children had been disciplined and faced unfair treatment. Some decided to enroll their kids in schools outside of the district.
“NSD’s policies provide sweeping discretion to discipline students for dress and expression, while simultaneously failing to provide defined guidelines,” the ACLU wrote in the complaint. “As a result, school employees enforce prohibitions on gang-related attire on an ad hoc basis and rely on further vague and broad training from law enforcement.”
Nampa schools’ definition of gang attire is ‘very broad’
Law enforcement’s definition of gang attire is “very broad,” the report said.
For example, Nampa and Caldwell police considered flannel shirts, Boston Red Sox baseball caps, Nebraska Cornhuskers clothing and khaki pants or shorts to be gang attire, according to the report. Some students were barred from wearing red or blue, the report found, even though Nampa High School’s colors are red and blue.
The dress code enforcement hurt Latino students, the report said, creating disciplinary records and causing students to miss class time because of suspensions and other forms of punishment.
“It’s just kind of shocking how those dress codes are applied so unfairly,” said Dina Flores-Brewer, attorney and community intake manager for the ACLU of Idaho. “They’re getting down to very picky things.”
The complaint also said Nampa students were suspended at high rates and received most of the gang-affiliated violations. It cited an instance when a school resource officer allegedly said his job was to “‘clean up’ the school after he was discussing a particular Mexican student had been disciplined.” In another report, a substitute teacher yelled that a group of Latino students needed to “speak English” when they already were.
The complaint asked the DOJ to investigate whether the district’s policies and enforcement violate Titles IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, take steps to remedy any violations and ensure compliance.
The ACLU did not file a complaint against the Caldwell School District. Last year, an ACLU spokesperson said the group was encouraged by the Caldwell School District’s efforts around equity and inclusion after the publication of the report.
Flores-Brewer said the ACLU is waiting to see what comes out of the Nampa investigation before making any decisions about Caldwell. But ultimately, she said even children who are members of a gang have the right to be educated.
“We hope that the Nampa school district changes their dress code policies to stop targeting Latine students,” Flores-Brewer said. “The families continue to come forward and reach out to us, and we send them along to the Department of Justice.”
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