ACLU files brief supporting lawsuit against JPSB over BB gun suspension
12th April 2021 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
Already supported by multiple other officials and organizations, a fourth-grade student at Woodmere Elementary School and his family have received additional backing from the ACLU of Louisiana, which last week filed a brief in U.S. District Court that backed the family in their lawsuit against the Jefferson Parish School Board.
The student, Ka’Mauri Harrison of Harvey, was initially expelled from Woodmere in September when a BB gun was visible on screen while Ka’Mauri was taking an online test in his bedroom as part of his home-based instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ACLU amicus brief asserts that not only was the school district’s reaction unreasonably extreme and a result of faulty interpretation of existing state guidelines regarding firearms in schools, but the expulsion and overall punishment against Ka-Mauri, who is Black, continue American society’s unfair, severe application of disciplinary codes that disproportionately affect students of color.
Further, the ACLU filing adds that the JPSB’s harsh measure reflects the way students of color, the poor and other disadvantaged populations face more troubled and bleak futures as a result of such discriminatory, ethnically unfair disciplinary systems.
“School Board officials sought to enforce Louisiana’s disciplinary code – already open to interpretation – in the broadest possible manner by applying its most severe punishment to the remote learning environment and recommending the expulsion of Ka’Mauri Harrison,” the ACLU brief states. “… School boards and courts should update this traditional approach by refraining from imposing suspension or expulsion in unprecedented circumstances absent a clear disciplinary violation. Doing so will help ensure that Ka’Mauri, and thousands of other Black students, are not wrongly and discriminatorily excluded from school.”
ACLU of Louisiana legal director Nora Ahmed said her organization’s court filing includes extensive statistical, research-based data that shows the way harsh, discriminatory disciplinary policies disproportionately endanger the futures of students of color, who face such long-term negative consequences as failure to graduate, unemployment, poverty and incarceration.
“We wanted to make sure the court had a full picture of what [the effects of discriminatory policies] look like in Jefferson Parish, in Louisiana and in the nation,” she said. “We felt it would be helpful to the court to see what those numbers look like and how they affect students’ education.
“I hope the judge takes a very close look at the information, and take a very close look at what suspension means for young students of color,” Ahmed added.
The school district initially handed down the punishment against Ka’Mauri by arguing that the presence of the BB gun violated the statewide “Gun Free Schools” policy in educational facilities. Following public outcry, the punishment was reduced to a six-day suspension.
The suspension was further dropped to three days following a hearing as mandated by the new state Ka’Mauri Harrison act, a measure adopted by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards shortly after the Ka’Mauri’s original suspension.
The new law requires school districts to adopt clearer, fairer disciplinary policies for online learning, including the implementation of additional appeals processes for students who have been punished. The law was also retroactive, meaning Ka’Mauri’s case fell under the requirements of the bipartisan law that bears his name.
On Oct. 2, Harrison’s family sued the Jefferson Parish School Board in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking, among other measures, unspecified damages and reimbursement of legal expenses incurred by the Harrisons as part of the disciplinary appeals process. The suit also demanded that the school system allow Ka’Mauri to make up the work he missed while serving the suspension.
Ahmed said that in addition to that fact that BB guns are not legally considered firearms under both state and federal law, the JPSB’s disciplinary action against Ka’Mauri represents an attempt to punish students, especially students of color, simply on what teachers or instructors see at the students’ homes. Ahmed said such far-reaching interpretations involve unfairly judging students’ home life, social standing or financial situation.
“If that is the case, then we’re starting to criminalize poverty at a very young age,” she said, adding that “the larger issue is about engagement and online learning and how the school should not be making judgments based on someone’s background.”
Chelsea Cusimano, an attorney with the legal firm representing the Harrisons, welcomed the support of the ACLU, saying that it further strengthens the family’s beliefs and legal action.
“The Harrison Williams Family is incredibly honored, overwhelmed and humbled by the support of the ACLU, one of the nation’s foremost organizations designed to protect and promote basic human rights and civil liberties,” Cusimano said. “Mr. Harrison has barely begun to wrap his head around the support that they showed in their brief filed yesterday, and the family is taking the support in, as well as the statistical research that the ACLU compiled. …We are hopeful that their support of the Harrison Williams family arguments shows that merits of the lawsuit are real and have been very real from the very beginning.”
However, the Jefferson Parish School Board issued a statement responding to the ACLU’s new involvement in Ka’Mauri’s case. The statement voiced a particular objection to the ACLU’s brief bringing race into a situation that the school board argues has never involved such factors as ethnicity or social background.
“The ACLU seeks to involve itself in the Harrison lawsuit, it says, in order to educate the court about the issue of discrimination against African-American students in our nation’s public schools,” the JPSB stated. “The District opposes the ACLU’s effort to inject race into this matter when it has not even been raised as an issue in the lawsuit. To be clear, the lawsuit does not contain a single allegation related to the student’s race or any perceived discrimination, and to the contrary, the facts show that African-American and white students received the same discipline for the same offense. Not only is the proposed amicus brief irrelevant to the issues in the lawsuit, but the ACLU is not, and cannot, act as an objective, neutral party in this matter given the inflammatory and partisan statements it has made on behalf of the plaintiffs.”
Ka’Mauri Harrison’s case has also been noteworthy for the way it has brought together a wide-ranging coalition of organizations and officials in support of Ka’Mauri and his family. In addition to the ACLU, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a conservative Republican, has issued his objection to the school district’s actions and arguments, and the National Rifle Association has also voiced its support for the family and its lawsuit against the JPSB.
“I think it is pretty remarkable that in this climate, in this day and age, with everything that is going on, these entities can unite to come together to protect one common interest – children receiving their fundamental right to public education,” Cusimano said. “This is a case that truly transcends party lines, and I think the coalition of these entities evidences just how important the children and families of the State of Louisiana are in this instance.
“You will hear a lot of people say this is just ‘political,’ but it simply is not,” Cusimano added. “We are talking about basic fundamental rights and liberties afforded to children and families pursuant to the United States Constitution and its progeny. There is nothing political about that, and these parties all coming together certainly support our position as to that.”
Ahmed echoed those sentiments, saying that even in the highly charged, sharply partisan atmosphere that has developed across the country over the last decade or more, common sense can unite a broad spectrum of Americans and Louisianians.
“There are instances that are so egregious and nonsensical that the nature of partisanship doesn’t apply, and it shouldn’t apply,” she said. “Most people will agree that decisions [such as school disciplinary measures] must be made within the context of what took place.”
Cusimano said such rational, unified thinking is especially vital when it comes to kids and their education. “These issues tend to bring people together, especially to support a boy who did absolutely nothing wrong,” she said.
This article originally published in the April 12, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
