SALT LAKE CITY—The Davis School District (DSD) met with the Legislative Administrative Rules Review and General Oversight Committee at the Capitol on Monday, to give a review of what the district has been doing to fulfill the settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The settlement came after a DOJ investigation into allegations of race discrimination against students in the district. The DOJ investigation concluded that there was widespread race-based harassment of students of color, specifically Black and Asian American students in the district.

“I was retained by the Davis School District in 2021 to help with the settlement,” said Heidi Alder, legal consultant for the district. “In 2019 the DOJ opened an investigation under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act into reports of widespread harassment that hadn’t been addressed by DSD.”

From 2019 to December of 2020, the DOJ investigated those complaints, she said. “DOJ attorneys came out and visited the district and met with administration, staff, students and parents. At the end of 2020 the DOJ reviewed all of the information and issued a letter to the district in September 2021, with the outcome of their findings.”

To follow the letter the district had the opportunity to work on these matters by entering into a settlement, said Alder. “The DOJ’s legal findings are the basis for everything the district has to do in the settlement.”

The summary of the settlement agreement is:

• Work with consultants 

• Create an Office to Process Reports of Harassment and Discrimination

• Develop procedures for reporting & responding to complaints of harassment & discrimination through a centralized reporting system

• Send annual notices to parent, students and staff on anti-harassment & non-discrimination

• Develop culture, climate & community engagement plans

• Review policies and procedures

• Develop training and professional development

• DOJ monitoring and reporting requirements

“When we received the letter we had two options,” said Board of Education President Liz Mumford. “We could downplay the DOJ findings or we could take responsibility and address the complaints that were raised during the investigation. So we looked at those and decided to take responsibility by agreeing to the terms of the settlement.”

Mumford said she personally read the interviews that were conducted with the students. “It was heart wrenching to hear their lived experiences were valid. I think it is critical that we aspire to provide a better experience for our students in our public schools.”

With over 90 schools each administration handled it differently, said Alder. “It was not consistent. Some teachers addressed it (the behavior) verbally and some addressed it in class and never reported it to administrators so the perception to parents was that nothing was being done.”

“When I came to the district I called a dear friend who grew up in Bountiful,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Fidel Montero. “I wanted to understand the community values and she said they valued families and opportunities. That’s what we’re trying to do as a school district is to base our work to address issues around those values.”

There are tons of amazing people in the Davis County community, he said. “Everybody wants to address this issue. I haven’t found any parent who doesn’t.”

“A lot of work comes from student advisory councils, said DSD Superintendent Dr. Dan Linford. “I feel it is critical that each school has their council. I think most of the work happens at the school level.”

“This issue is important to me,” said Rep. Kera Birkeland. “My son has been called a monkey. He is constantly being called the N-word all over the school. I’ve seen text chains saying ‘we need some money so we decided to sell you.’”

These are deplorable comments, she said. “Something has to change and it’s not just DSD. It’s statewide. These are behaviors that I take issue with. People think it’s funny. They don’t understand. My concern is when we don’t handle things like this it backfires. The divide becomes stronger.”