On Monday, January 21st, the ACLU filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against Paw Paw Public Schools.  The complaint asks that the school district is to be investigated for a racially hostile educational environment.

The ACLU claims that they have uncovered numerous examples of the hostile environment via documents released via a Freedom of Information Act request.  You can read some examples the ACLU has made public in their official complaint to the U.S. Department of Education.

The most recent incident cited by the ACLU against the Paw Paw School District is highlighted in the complaint:

"Discrimination against all groups is ongoing.  Most notably the use of imagery and language harmful to Native Americans continues, and on December 21, 2018, during a basketball game between Paw Paw High School and another school, white Paw Paw players and many of their fans engaged in a brawl with African American players from the opposing team."

The Paw Paw School district denies the allegation that they are a hostile educational environment and released this statement:

"The District denies the ACLU’s allegations and is disappointed that the ACLU made such claims without conducting sufficient and objective research. In the past 3 years, District administration received only a handful of race-based harassment claims, each of which the District promptly and effectively addressed. Contrary to the allegations in the ACLU’s complaint, District staff and administration work tirelessly to promote diversity and to encourage cultural sensitivity."

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