Investigators from the U.S. Department of Justice will be in Colorado next week conducting interviews as they probe the Douglas County School District’s response to discrimination, harassment and bullying of students based on their race, national origin, religion or disability.
The investigation by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which has been quietly underway for at least a year, is in direct response to a 2023 federal lawsuit filed by the families of four Douglas County students of color who alleged the school district and its leaders violated the children’s rights to an equal education by exhibiting “callous indifference” toward extensive racist bullying at school, their attorney, Iris Halpern, told The Denver Post.
Representatives of the Douglas County School District and the Justice Department have not responded to messages left Thursday seeking comment.
Lacey Ganzy, the mother of two of the students in the lawsuit, said she has been interviewed by the DOJ as part of their investigation a few times over the past year. Now, she said, the Civil Rights Division is opening up its investigation and seeking further input from parents, students and the community.
“We are excited for some accountability,” Ganzy said. “I feel like the district is starting to get scared.”
In an email Ganzy received from the DOJ this week, the agency said investigators will be in Douglas County next week and can meet in person Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or via Zoom or phone call. People who would like to share their experience can reach the DOJ by emailing community.dcsd@usdoj.gov or calling 888-394-6317, the email states.
The email said the DOJ investigation also is looking at the district’s use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities.
“We would like to hear from parents, students and other community members about their experiences with discrimination, harassment and bullying in the school district,” DOJ officials wrote in the email, which was reviewed by The Post. They stressed “parents, students and community members are not under investigation.”
The lawsuit, filed by Halpern on behalf of families with students who attended Castle Rock Middle School and Douglas County High School, named as defendants the Douglas County School District, its elected school board and Castle Rock principal John Veit. The teens were unnamed in the complaint because they are minors.
Halpern confirmed two of the teen plaintiffs were Jeramiah Ganzy and his sister Neveah Ganzy, who previously told The Post about racist bullying so egregious it prompted Jeramiah to finish his school year online and the family to flee Castle Rock.
Lacey Ganzy said her son remains in online school and in therapy three days a week as a result of his treatment by the district.
The students faced racist taunting by their peers, including being told to “go back to the plantation, you cotton-picking monkey,” the lawsuit alleged. Students took pictures of one of the plaintiffs using the restroom at school and circulated the photos online, the lawsuit said. The incident prompted the victim to refuse to use the restroom at school, impacting his health, the lawsuit said.
All three student plaintiffs at Castle Rock Middle School reported the racist bullying, the lawsuit said, but only faced retaliation by students.
“These DOJ “pattern or practice” investigations should send a warning to the Douglas County School District that it needs to protect and support its minority students, revise its policies, ensure equal access to educational opportunities and stop treating students as pawns in its politicized culture wars,” Halpern said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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