Hawkins County Schools Settle with Justice Department In Discrimination and Harassment Case
The Hawkins County School system has agreed to a settlement with the US Department of Justice. This is in regards to an investigation the Justice Department launched into Hawkins County schools after reports of race-based discrimination targeting Black students. According to the US Justice Department their investigation, which began in 2023, focused on several instances of peer harassment, including a mock “slave auction” to sell Black students to their white counterparts, repeated and open use of the N-word, and a “monkey of the month” campaign to ridicule Black students. Most of the harassment happened at the Church Hill Middle School during the 2021-22 school year as well as several other issues the following school year at an unnamed high school.
As part of their settlement, Hawkins County Schools have agreed to hire an Anti-Harassment Coordinator to oversee the effective handling of race discrimination and harassment complaints; Retain a consultant to support the school district in implementing the agreement and creating a discrimination-free learning environment; The school system also agreed to create a new electronic reporting portal to track and manage complaints and the district’s response to those complaints; also the school system agreed to train staff on how to identify, investigate and respond to complaints of racial harassment and discriminatory discipline practices.
You can see the full agreement here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1355036/dl
You can see the full investigation report here: