Justice Department continues investigation into Nampa schools

NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in Idaho Press.

It has been a full year since the American Civil Liberties Union released a report on discriminatory practices in the Nampa School District, accusing it of targeting Latino students.

Following the report, a formal complaint from the ACLU was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice on August 23, 2023, requesting an investigation into the school district’s dress code and disciplinary practices.

It is not known when the investigation will be completed, said Rebecca De León, communications director for the ACLU.

The complaint criticized the NSD’s dress code for being too broad with regard to gang activity, allowing administration and police to ban anything they deem gang-related. NSD’s policies include restrictions on “clothing associated with hate or gang groups.”

The complaint also alleged that some schools in the district unofficially banned the wearing of Catholic rosaries and claimed that dress code enforcement treated Hispanic students unfairly because they expressed their gang affiliation.

De León said the ACLU’s goal remains unchanged — implementing its recommendations at the NSD. In its complaint, the ACLU asked the Justice Department to ensure that the NSD corrects the discriminatory behavior against Latino students that the ACLU alleges.

The investigation could end with enforcement of the ACLU’s proposed policy changes, implementation of some policy changes, or a complete dismissal of the complaint. In extreme cases, the Justice Department may deny federal funding to the district if it does not comply with its decision.

NSD schools each have building-specific student handbooks that describe the policies in more detail, separate from the district-wide handbook. Looking ahead to the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, the NSD Board of Directors has approved changes and updates, some of which affect the dress code.

At a meeting on May 13, the board approved changes to the district-wide middle school handbook. The change removed restrictions on wearing the numbers 13, 14, 18 and “any numbers that complement those numbers.” These numbers are often associated with gangs.

The rest of the policy states: “Clothing associated with hate or gang groups such as hats, bandanas, rags, colorful t-shirts, pants, chains, solid colored clothing, etc. is not permitted. Other items will be identified by police.”

Superintendent Gregg Russell said at the meeting that the change was made following discussions with the Department of Justice.

The dress code in the high school handbook remains unchanged and states: “No gang or hate group attire (hats, bandanas, rags, paint, shoelaces, suspenders, chains – except a wallet chain 12 inches or less) or any other clothing deemed gang-related by the School Resource Officer or school administration.”

The school rules also prohibit students from “wearing clothing in the colors or insignia of the gang.”

On June 18, the board approved building-specific handbooks for the 2024-2025 school year. In these handbooks, some schools go into more detail about the district’s practices.

Changes to the Nampa High School handbook removed the rule that states, “Students may not wear any clothing that is determined by the School Resource Officer or school administration to be associated with gangs or hate groups.”

However, district-wide handbook rules will continue to apply to Nampa High students.

The Nampa School District declined to comment due to the pending Justice Department investigation and instead referred to a statement released on July 13, 2023.

“The recent report released by the ACLU has brought attention to the complex problem of gang activity and violence in schools. Gangs and their history of violence have posed a significant challenge to our district and community for many years,” the statement said. “However, we are committed to tackling this problem head-on and are fully committed to creating schools and a community free from all forms of gang activity.”

The district also praises its partnership with the Nampa Police Department.

“We want to emphasize that at no time have we condoned or supported practices that discriminate against any of our students,” the statement said. “The Nampa School District continues to strive for excellence for all students, including our Hispanic and Latino students and families. We stand together with our community to ensure a safer future for all.”

Shirley Vendrell was principal of Nampa High in the 1990s. Now retired, she has worked with mother Cricelda McCormick and other former students who have alleged unprofessional and discriminatory behavior. These former students now have children of their own who attend schools in NSD.

“Nampa obviously has a gang problem, but the school district is overzealous,” Vendrell said.

Vendrell approached the ACLU with complaints from several former students whose children struggled in Nampa schools, which she believes discriminates against less affluent Hispanic students.

“They expect the less well-off children in particular to be submissive,” she said.

According to De León, 20 people were interviewed as part of the ACLU complaint.

McCormick’s children were part of the ACLU complaint. McCormick’s family alleges there were separate incidents of discrimination and mistreatment by school staff and administration.

The incidents involve harassment by school personnel and unequal treatment of their children compared to their non-Hispanic peers. One major incident relates to the ACLU complaint about unequal enforcement of the dress code.

One of her daughters attended Nampa High School in 2020 with other Hispanic family members.

McCormick described how her daughter had few friendships outside of her family and spent most of her time at home with her cousins.

Still, McCormick said her daughter was assaulted by staff at Nampa High School. During the pandemic, staff claimed the mask her daughter was wearing symbolized gang affiliation.

McCormick claims a staff member raised his voice and tried to rip the mask off her daughter’s face. The incident ended with her daughter bursting into tears.

McCormick was confused because the black and white mask showed no evidence of gang affiliation.

When she met with the administration, confrontations arose.

“They were upset and started telling me about her grades, that her grades weren’t good and that she was involved with gangs,” McCormick said. “… (An administrator) portrayed her as the kind of kid I knew she wasn’t.”

McCormick pressed the administration to identify the alleged gang members her daughter was hanging out with. They showed surveillance footage of her daughter in the hallway with her cousins.

This wasn’t the only time her daughter had problems at Nampa High, and McCormick eventually took her out of school.

“I never had that feeling in school,” says McCormick about her own experiences as an NSD student.

In 2022, McCormick’s son was allegedly accused of vaping in a West Middle School bathroom and was patted down before McCormick was notified. In the end, it was another student who had an e-cigarette, according to McCormick.

Following the ACLU complaint, McCormick hopes for positive changes in the district.

This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, Read more at IdahoPress.com.