JOINT STATEMENT
FOR MMC
On August 29, 2024, Wausau School District (“District”) reached a mutual resolution with a former student and his family of the student’s claims of unlawful harassment because of his race, national origin, and sexual orientation by a former teacher.
The student, who attended Wausau East High School until his graduation in 2023, is gay and of Hmong and Lao descent. In spring 2023, the student and his parents filed a complaint with the District that the teacher had subjected him to harassment because of these factors. In an appeal filed in May 2023 with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (“DPI”), the student and his parents disputed District administrators’ initial determination that the teacher’s conduct did not violate the student’s rights.
After the appeal was filed, the Wausau Board of Education retained attorney Alana Leffler to conduct an independent investigation. After her investigation, Leffler issued a report concluding that the student had been subjected to discrimination and harassment because of his race and sexual orientation.
To resolve the DPI appeal and related legal claims, the parties reached a resolution in which the
District has agreed to enter compliance monitoring by the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction on a stipulated corrective action plan under which the District will:
The District will also compensate the student for the injuries he suffered and his attorneys’ fees.
The student, his family, and the District believe that current and future students of the Wausau
School District will benefit from the actions the District has agreed to take to resolve this matter.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here