A complaint has been filed with the Department of Public Instruction against the Wausau School District over its handling of a case of racist and homophobic statements directed at a student by a teacher.
Attorney Elizabeth Lambert says the School District erred when it chose not to take action against band director Rob Perkins.
“The district applied a definition of harassment that violates both state law and its own policy.”
School administrators decided not to punish Perkins claiming his comments were jokes. The school board has since said it will investigate the matter again with the help of a consultant. Lambert says schools need to follow policy.
“We really need to make sure that school administrators in this state understand what fair inclusive schools look like and understand how they are supposed to put those principles and those ideals into practice every day.”
Dozens of people commented on the case at a school board meeting on Monday.