Norwin failed to eliminate 'racially hostile environment,' Department of Education says

The Norwin School District violated federal civil rights laws when it allowed what the U.S. Department of Education called repeated, racially harassing conduct over 10 months in 2021.

The district agreed to a seven-point plan to ensure it complies with the law.

“The Norwin School District has now committed to taking steps essential to effectively addressing the racially hostile environment in its schools and ensuring that students are able to access their education without being subject to race-based harassment,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights for the federal Department of Education. “(The Office of Civil Rights) looks forward to the change to come in this district to ensure its students can learn free from discrimination as federal law guarantees.”

The Education Department criticized then-Superintendent Jeff Taylor for what it claimed was his action to minimize the severity of the conduct in an email to school board members and in a press release.

Taylor, who is now assistant superintendent at Carlynton School District in the Crafton area, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Superintendent Natalie McCracken, who was assistant superintendent at the time of the violations, said the district has cooperated with the Education Department since its Office of Civil Rights requested information in April 2022.

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The investigation was finished in December 2022, but Norwin officials say they were not contacted by the Education Department until June 2024, when the resolution agreement was proposed. The investigators indicated they would only provide Norwin with the substantive evidence that supported their findings after the school district signed the agreement.

While McCracken said the Oct. 2 letter from the Education Department appears to suggest the issues outlined in the complaint persist today, a review of the specific issues found most of the incidents occurred three years ago and some issues arose during the summer vacation.

School board President Matt Thomas declined to comment. Thomas was elected in November and did not take a seat on the board until December.

Norwin failed to eliminate the racially hostile environment when a student informed the administration she found it offensive when some students wore clothing with a Confederate flag during what was billed as ’Merica Day on Oct. 11, 2021, the Education Department said.

The district also failed to remedy the effects of the harassment, thus failing to meet its obligations under the federal Civil Rights Act.

About 1.4% of Norwin’s students in the 2020-21 school year were Black.

The Education Department said the district also ignored its obligation under Title VI to consider whether social media posts made outside the school, which included promoting hanging of Black people and setting them on fire, created a racially hostile environment for students.

Norwin officials were notified a photo on social media showed the students wearing the Confederate flag clothing with the caption titled “kool kids klub,” a reference to Ku Klux Klan.

One student drew a Confederate flag visible on his arm within weeks of the incident, reflecting the insufficiency of Norwin’s response, the Education Department said.

Although the referenced racial discrimination occurred before School Director Alex Detschelt won a seat on the board in the 2021 election, he defended the students’ rights to wear the Confederate-styled clothing.

Detschelt criticized the administration for having the high school students remove the Confederate-style clothing after a complaint was lodged about what they were wearing.

“I have no issue with anyone expressing their First Amendment rights of freedom of expression, as long as it does not substantially disrupt the educational environment,” Detschelt said in response to the agreement with Education Department.

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