Colorado mother plans Black History Month demonstrations outside school district
It's been one year since a Colorado mother says her children began experiencing racial bullying at their Douglas County school.
She says the district still hasn't made any changes.
Lacey Ganzy was planning a sit-in outside the Douglas County School District headquarters every day of Black History Month. But unfortunately, Ganzy says their first few sit-ins were met with aggression and some people flipping them off. She wants this to be a peaceful demonstration, so instead she has taken to leaving a blue flower outside the district each day and holding a rally outside whenever the school board meets.
"We decided, what better time than now? My son started being tormented on February 1st," said Lacey Ganzy.
The last year has been hard for the Ganzy family.
"I lost a lot of friends," said her son, Jeremiah Ganzy.
Lacey Ganzy says they were "run out of town" after speaking up about the racial harassment her son Jeremiah endured when he was added to a Snapchat group chat of Castle Rock Middle School students in 2023.
"Beyond hate. Talking about 'bringing the Holocaust back.' All kinds of different things to remove the Blacks from the planet," said Lacey. "They were throwing cotton at the students at the school. They were telling them to go back to their country, 'Black History Month was over.'"
"Seeing this, especially with people I grew up with, was just heartbreaking for me," said Jeremiah.
Jeremiah reported it but said nothing was done.
"I actually emailed the school district around Spring Break and I got no response, my mom got no response, and I saw no change around the school, which honestly made me feel disregarded," said Jeremiah.
That lack of response was the catalyst for a lawsuit brought by the Ganzys and two other families against Douglas County School District, the school board, and Castle Rock Middle School's principal, alleging they failed to protect students from racial harassment.
"When my son's email went, we got the CORA report. It did make it right back to the principal's desk so why was there no action taken? We didn't even look into it or call any of the parents. That to me sounds like a bigger problem," said Lacey.
That lawsuit is currently playing out in federal court.
Lacey's two other children say they also experienced racism from students while attending DCSD schools. Ganzy's daughter, Neveah, says she was forced to debate the Jim Crow laws in school and was put on the "pro-Jim Crow" side, which made her uncomfortable.
DCSD said in a statement that "racial slurs and discrimination are absolutely unacceptable in our district."
But the Ganzy family is calling for more action, visiting the district every day of Black History Month.
"All we were asking for was change and we just wanted a clear definition between bullying and a hate crime," said Lacey.
Lacey wants the district to clarify hate speech policies and add a new victim's advocate.
"In a modern society, I think racism has no place," said Jeremiah.
Douglas County School District said it encourages parents and students to report concerns, and say they are dedicated to creating a welcoming and caring environment. They shared the following comment regarding their policies on bullying and hate crimes:
District policy does not define "crimes," the criminal code does this (and is enforced by law enforcement).
Douglas County School District does not tolerate bullying, discrimination or harassment. Here are our relevant policies:
JICDE Bullying Prevention and Education
JBA Non-Discrimination Non-Harassment of Students
AC Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity
AC-R-1 Non-Discrimination/Equal Opportunity (Complaint and Compliance Process)
Our Student Code of Conduct is also clear in this regard. From Pages 16-17:
"All students who believe they have been victims of such harassment are encouraged to immediately report it to an administrator or teacher at their school. If the harassment is being committed by the principal or another administrator in the building, the report shall be made to the appropriate Director of Schools assigned to the building. All students who witness such harassment are encouraged to immediately report it to an administrator or teacher at their Douglas County School school. If the harassment is being committed by the principal or another administrator in the building, the report shall be made to the appropriate Director of Schools assigned to the building. In addition to the foregoing, students may utilize the complaint policies at Policy ACR-2, Sexual Harassment Grievance Process, or Policy KE, Public Complaints, to file reports of harassment. Students who wish to appeal any decision regarding reported harassment may do so using the appeal procedures in Policies AC-R-2 and KE.
Any student who engages in harassment of another student based on the other student's disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or ancestry shall be required to attend a meeting with his or her parent(s) or guardian and the principal or principal's designee; be subject to remedial action such as education or counseling; and be subject to disciplinary action up to and including suspension or expulsion."
In addition to investigations and disciplinary actions performed by the school administration, the process outlined in AC-R-1 includes the option to contact the district Compliance Officer (complianceofficer@dcsdk12.org). Our district has a dedicated Compliance Office that investigates complaints of discrimination and harassment. We take these complaints very seriously and investigate all incidents that are reported.
All of us at DCSD, in both our neighborhood and charter schools, are dedicated to each and every one of our students.
