Lawsuits challenge critical race theory in charter school curriculum, bias reporting in K-12

Gabrielle Clark and her biracial son sued his Nevada charter school to let him graduate without participating in a mandatory class they claim promotes hostility toward whites as a race.

Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus (DPAC), part of the New York-based Democracy Prep Public Schools charter network, relented on the eve of a preliminary injunction hearing in April. 

It let him opt out of the graduation requirement "Sociology of Change” and expunged his failing grade for refusing to participate, according to his then-lawyers at Schoolhouse Rights, a project of the International Organization for the Family. (The school said it gave him "the injunctive relief that he seeks," filing the details under seal.)

But the Clarks weren't satisfied with spending several months haggling with the school and going to court only to let William finish school with a clean academic record. They got new lawyers and amended the lawsuit to demand compensatory and punitive damages for harming William's college prospects, compelling speech and causing him emotional harm.

The family is also seeking a legally enforceable ban on the alleged practices used in the class, such as requiring students to disclose their various "identities" and labeling whites and Christians as "oppressors." 

They asked the court to force Nevada's charter school authority, another defendant, to not reauthorize DPAC if it doesn't get rid of the challenged practices.

The Liberty Justice Center took over the Clark case in May. Multiple school districts are forcing students to go through these same "divisive" exercises, senior attorney Daniel Suhr told Just the News. "It's not about learning — it's about being forced into this ideology."