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Prince William County Public Schools failed to take steps to eliminate a racially hostile environment for Black students at Brentsville District High School during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, the federal Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found.
The civil rights office also expressed concern with the school system’s handling of antisemitic incidents at the high school.
InsideNoVa recently obtained a resolution letter, which details a number of incidents over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, from the Office for Civil Rights through a federal records request.
The Office for Civil Rights is a part of the Department of Education responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws in schools and other recipients of Department of Education funding.
The resolution letter was addressed to Superintendent LaTanya McDade in July 2024.
Steve Walts was the superintendent of the division at the time of the incidents outlined in the letter. McDade took over the role at the start of the 2021-22 school year.
Brentsville District High School Principal Katherine Meints has served in her position since 2011.
Violations
The letter states the school division violated Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in the programs or activities of all recipients of federal financial assistance.
“Specifically, OCR found by a preponderance of the evidence that the Division failed to take prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to eliminate a known racially hostile environment for Black students at The High School and to prevent its recurrence,” the letter said.
The letter specifically cites a failure to investigate some harassing incidents at the western Prince William school, not adequately investigate others and not fully redress the effects of the hostile environment for harassed students and students who witnessed the events.
In addition to the “known racially hostile environment” for Black students, the Office for Civil Rights identified what it called a “compliance concern” that the school division may not have taken effective steps to eliminate a possible hostile environment created by antisemitic harassment.
Many specifics of the incidents were redacted in the report either to protect the identities of minor students or because of profane and derogatory language.
The federal investigation revealed six alleged incidents of race-based harassment over a period of approximately six months, including summer break. These alleged incidents included racial slurs and threats, such as multiple uses of a slur, a racially derogatory phrase carved on a desk, the use of a Confederate flag and a threatening gesture made after a group of students posed in front of a Confederate flag.
School division response
Prince William County Public Schools told the civil rights office that Brentsville District High School took “proactive measures” beginning in the 2019-2020 school year to address “concerns regarding race.” Brentsville District High School’s improvement plan had a stated goal of improving the overall school climate.
The Office for Civil Rights reviewed a copy of the improvement plan, and while one of the critical initiatives was to increase opportunities for students and staff to share concerns about overall school climate, there was nothing specifically addressing race-based or antisemitic harassment.
Notes from a November 2019 staff meeting that were reviewed by the civil rights office showed agenda items covering topics such as bullying and the bystander effect, but, again, nothing specifically addressing race-based or antisemitic harassment.
While the civil rights office verified that during the 2018-2019 school year Brentsville District High School sponsored a chapter of No Place for Hate, a national program that addresses issues of diversity and acceptance in schools, there was no such chapter during the 2019-20 school year.
“[Redacted] said she ‘saw that people [in the school] weren’t listening [to No Place for Hate] the way we needed them to,’ and she decided to implement something that was ‘more ingrained in the community.’”
As a result, in mid-fall 2019, teachers were asked to nominate students to be part of a large student leadership group. The goal of the group was to help students be better at listening and standing up for fellow students and to learn how to be an advocate and respond to something that is not appropriate, the letter said. Of the 80 students nominated for the group, only 60 students attended the first meeting, and the group was not specifically focused on the issues related to race.
Office for Civil Rights analysis
The Office for Civil Rights found, based on evidence, “the division had notice of a racially hostile environment for Black students” at Brentsville District High School.
“This finding is based on the number, nature and severity of reported race-based incidents over a relatively short time period,” the letter said.
The civil rights office found the school division violated Title VI by failing to take prompt and effective steps to eliminate the hostile environment and to prevent its recurrence, including by not investigating certain incidents. The failure also stemmed from inadequately investigating other incidents by failing to interview witnesses despite reports they were upset or not comfortable at school, leaving those [redacted] students in a racially hostile environment without redress.
The school division knew of at least three antisemitic incidents involving the drawing of swastikas at Brentsville, one in a bathroom stall in 2018, another in a bathroom stall in 2019 and some in a classroom in 2019, the Office for Civil Rights found.
Although the division promptly investigated the incidents and removed the swastikas, the civil rights office identified a compliance concern under Title VI that the division may not have taken effective steps to eliminate a potentially hostile environment based on national origin (shared Jewish ancestry). The division also may have failed to prevent a recurrence by not assessing if the incidents created a hostile environment for Jewish and other students who were in the class or using those stalls and by not offering them support.
“The evidence shows that the high school generally took steps to investigate reports of racial harassment that came to the attention of administrators. However, OCR determined that the High School’s investigations often did not fully address the allegations such that it would have effectively eliminated the hostile environment,” the report said.
For example, with regard to a 2019 incident, the Office for Civil Rights found the division did not interview all the students who were involved in or witnessed an altercation, instead prematurely concluding it could not substantiate an allegation.
In another 2019 incident, when investigating an individual’s alleged use of a racial slur, the civil rights office found the division did not conduct multiple interviews and instead relied upon the individual’s denial.
Although the division disciplined students found to have engaged in race-based conduct, the civil rights office found the evidence failed to indicate the division took effective steps to eliminate the hostile environment and its effect on Black students, including by fully redressing the reported problems students were experiencing as a result of the harassment and resulting hostile environment.
The division addressed each race-based incident individually and failed to assess the broader impact of the incidents on bystanders, observers and others at Brentsville District High School, the letter said.
“Although multiple incidents put the division on notice that race-based language possibly was being used on a regular and widespread basis, OCR found limited evidence of division efforts to assess the pervasiveness and impact of racially hostile language,” the letter said.
Ultimately, the school system reached a formal resolution agreement with the Office for Civil Rights to resolve the violations and compliance concerns.
Resolution
The school division released a statement in August 2024, announcing it had reached an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights following an investigation of racially discriminatory incidents that occurred at Brentsville District High School.
“These incidents do not align to PWCS core values, or the values of our diverse community and PWCS is taking immediate and decisive action to address this issue,” the statement said.
In the resolution, the division agreed to evaluate all complaints and reports of race, color and/or national origin harassment, including harassment based on shared ancestry, received or made at Brentsville District High School during the 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, to determine whether the division needs to take additional steps to fully investigate any of the reports.
Once the appropriate steps, if necessary, are taken to fully investigate the reports, the school division will evaluate the reports, both individually and collectively, to determine whether a hostile environment based on race, color or national origin existed for any specific students or the school as a whole. If the division determines that a hostile environment existed, it will assess what additional remedies or corrective actions are necessary and promptly implement those remedies.
Within 120 calendar days of signing the agreement, the division was required to submit a spreadsheet, for the civil rights office’s review and approval, describing its assessment of complaints or reports of racial or shared ancestry harassment made by any students still enrolled at the school.
The school division was also required to reissue to all school system parents, guardians, employees and students a written statement, stating that it does not tolerate bullying or harassment, including specifically acts of bullying or harassment based on race, color or national origin.
The division was also required to continue to train all school employees annually about the general requirements on how to address an allegation of harassment based on race, color or national origin. Annual training for school-based administrators and other division staff, including staff of the Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Compliance, who are directly involved in responding to reports of race, color or national origin harassment, was also required in the agreement.
Another requirement was the provision of an age-appropriate educational program for all students at Brentsville District High School to address harassment based on race, color and national origin.
After implementing the student educational program and before the end of the 2024-25 school year, the school division will administer a climate survey to all students, using age-appropriate language and terminology to assess the extent and impact of harassment based on race, color or national origin within the school community.
