Inequities and racial bias are cause for concern in Southlake Carroll Independent School District (CISD) and citizens are speaking out.
West & Associates, LLP along with The Bledsoe Law Firm have been retained to represent several families in the CISD. Together, the firms are demanding the approval and implementation of the Carroll ISD Cultural Competence Action Plan (CCAP) on behalf of those families.
Several members of Southlake concerned parents group, CREED (Cultural and Racial Equity for Every Dragon), including former Dallas Cowboy and longtime Southlake resident Russell Maryland, addressed their issues at a press conference last Friday, March 12.
Senator Royce West also spoke at the conference, after issuing a demand letter to District Superintendent Dr. Lane Ledbetter and School Board President Michelle Moore calling for the adoption of the CCAP or other mutually acceptable diversity, equity and inclusion plan.
The Department of Justice has also been contacted regarding the ongoing issue of racial bias in the CISD.
According to West, the demand is in response to the “disingenuous distract-deny-and-delay tactics that the School Board has recently employed with regard to the CCAP.”
The letter specifically expressed concerns that “the Board has opted to abdicate their constitutional duty and fiduciary responsibility to address the suffering minority students are forced to deal with on a daily basis.”
The letter continued, “The Board’s inaction has created an oppressive and hostile environment for students of color and other marginalized groups, has forfeited lessons of social engagement for all students, and has failed to maintain a safe and disciplined environment conducive to student learning. The Board’s delay in adopting and implementing the CCAP is inexcusable and represents a breach of the Board’s ethical and fiduciary obligations to the families within Carroll ISD, violations of the Texas Education Code, and the constitutional right to an education free from bigotry and discrimination.”
