SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – It had nothing with his thoughts on Critical Race Theory, a Sacramento Catholic school is arguing as it defends its expulsion of a 17-year-old Mexican American student.
Rather, the student, known in court papers as A.P., violated the Jesuit High School of Sacramento’s student handbook by using the word “fag” and the N-word around other students at an athletic event, the school says in its Sept. 3 motion to dismiss A.P.’s civil rights lawsuit.
“Stripped of all its irrelevant allegations regarding Critical Race Theory, allegations that clearly seek to take advantage of a current issue of national debate without any relationship to the actual facts alleged, the dispute is fairly simple to understand,” the motion says.
“Jesuit had standards for behavior and an unfettered right, per its ‘Christian philosophy’ to exact whatever discipline it felt appropriate when a student violated those standards.
“A.P. admitted using racist, homophobic, and disability-related slurs, was provided an opportunity to defend his actions, and the Discipline Board decided to terminate his enrollment, and allow him to withdraw.”
According to A.P., the saga began in 2020 with a letter written by fellow students advocating for the teaching of CRT in the school. Asked what he thought of the letter in class, A.P. said it was “retarded.”
“While A.P.’s use of the term was inappropriate, he plainly used it as slang to express criticism of the letter. It was obviously not intended to denigrate a person with an intellectual disability,” A.P.’s lawsuit says.
No punishment followed. In May 2021, he was informed that another student had told on him for using the N-word and the word “fag” at a swim meet. Thanks to his ADHD and dyslexia, A.P. says, he had trouble responding to the on-the-spot accusation.
A formal hearing was ordered, during which A.P. said he apologized for saying “fag” and that he and another student used it jokingly. The other student was ordered to write an apology letter.
A.P. says he never used the N-word. Principal Michael Wood asked A.P. to identify his sin during the hearing, to which A.P. responded that he’d hurt someone’s feelings.
“Your sin is racism. You are a racist and a bigot,” Wood said, according to the lawsuit. The following day, A.P. was told he would not be allowed back at JHS.
“The stated reason for the discipline was A.P.’s purported combination of racial slurs, homophobic slurs, and other unstated conduct,” the complaint says.
“Dr. Wood also expanded the number of purported accusers from a single student, as reported by Dean Theodule, to an unspecified number of multiple students (again unnamed). He added that it was not just the alleged incident on April 23, but that the School had previously documented A.P. engaging in such misconduct, and that intervention by the School had not resulted in changed behavior.
“Other that the quick verbal rebuke by a teacher for saying ‘retarded,’ A.P. had never before been warned or counseled about other similar purported misconduct, nor do his written school records contain a scintilla of evidence documenting any such past misconduct, counseling, or discipline.”
A.P. contrasted his treatment with the non-punishment of a Black student who posted on Instagram after the siege of the U.S. Capitol building in July “(S)ome of you white mfs need to open your f***in eyes! Look at how f***in dumb you’re making the U.S. look.”
The school cites a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment in its student/parent handbook as a reason for A.P.’s expulsion.
“(T)he allegations in the complaint themselves indicate that A.P. and his father did not fully perform their obligations under the contract,” the motion says. “A.P. admitted using the homophobic slur ‘fag.’ Part of the reason he was dismissed was for use of that word.
“Additionally, A.P. admits in his complaint that he ‘once’ used the term ‘retarded…’ (T)his… constitutes ‘insensitive speech’ which is defined as ‘written words, spoken words, images or gesturing that is offensive to one or more persons.’”