South Dakota school district investigated for discrimination

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A federal agency is investigating allegations that a western South Dakota school district discriminated against students with disabilities and retaliated against the individual who filed a complaint.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating the Rapid City Area Schools district based on a discrimination complaint from August 2016, the Rapid City Journal reported .

The agency is determining whether the district systematically denied students with disabilities a free appropriate education in two ways. First, the department will investigate whether the district failed to address timely evaluations of students suspected of having dyslexia and other disabilities. The agency will also determine whether the district capped the number of students who can be evaluated and receive appropriate help.

Dyslexia is a learning disability in which a person has difficulty reading and writing letters or numbers.

The district is also being investigated for allegations of retaliatory actions against the complainant. The complainant alleges “harassment in the workplace” and increased monitoring of her performance from two district employees. The department will also investigate whether the complainant’s contract with the district wasn’t renewed because of her legislative advocacy efforts or her complaint.

The district is receiving $3.4 million from the federal education department for special education this school year. Recipients of federal funding cannot intimidate, threaten, coerce or discriminate against anyone to interfere with a right or privilege secured by federal law, according to the Office of Civil Rights.

Katy Urban, the school district’s spokeswoman, said district officials cannot comment because the allegations involve a staff issue. Urban said the district created a “dyslexia work group” to develop a support plan for students over the summer, before the district learned of the complaint.

Attorney Stephanie Trask said the district knew about the complaint since May 2016, when her client filed an “aggrievance” and met with district officials. Trask also said there were two discrimination complaints against the district originally, but they were consolidated.

___

Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com