A federal civil rights investigation into complaints lodged against Carroll ISD has purportedly been put on pause.
“On behalf of your Board of Trustees, I have an important update on the status of the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR), investigation into four complaints levied against the district. OCR sent an email to our legal counsel on Friday, August 9, 2024, placing a pause of further action on the four cases,” Cameron Bryan, the school board president of Carroll ISD, said in an emailed update to district stakeholders.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Carroll ISD said it would not negotiate with the Department of Education (DOE) over the civil rights complaints.
“The facts of each case that follow show why there was no ‘hostile educational environment’ and why, even if there were, CISD was not deliberately indifferent to it. They also show why CISD must defend itself against these baseless allegations,” a prior statement from the school board read.
“We are simply not willing to put Carroll ISD into a burdensome agreement and knowing that OCR continues to refuse our requests for its factual findings. We have shown nothing but good faith in this process and expect the same from the OCR. For that reason, we declared an impasse in the negotiations and look forward to defending the District at all levels of this process,” the board’s statement concluded.
In May, the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights announced that four student complaints of discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation would be upheld. Federal officials then invited Carroll ISD to negotiate a resolution, giving the school board members 90 days to reach a deal before the agency would bring the issue to court, reported WFAA.
“We are in receipt of Carroll ISD’s August 5, 2024 letter in connection with the proposed Resolution Agreement in OCR Case Nos. 06-21-1300, 06-21-1301, 06-21-1302, and 06-22- 1397, advising OCR of its belief that various injunctions pertaining to Title IX apply to at least one of these cases. OCR has paused these cases while it assesses the effect that the injunctions have on them,” reads an email sent to Carroll ISD’s attorney by the Justice Department on Friday.