Illinois school hit with federal complaint over club that segregated students by race
AURORA, Ill. (CITC) — An Illinois STEM school is facing a federal civil rights complaint over a club which allegedly segregates students based on race in various activities.
The complaint against the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) in Aurora, Ill. was filed Wednesday by advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE). It follows PDE obtaining documents showing the top-ranked high school offers an "affinity group" exclusively for Black and "Latinx" students.
In the complaint, PDE points to the "Brotherhood and Sister Circle," which is described on IMSA's website as a program designed to give "Black and Latinx students anopportunity to celebrate and enhance their strengths, creativity, intelligence, promote networking, community involvement, financial literacy, resources and academic success."
The complaint raises concerns over a retreat offered by the club. PDE states that "emails obtained by an open records request" indicate only Black and "Latinx" students receive invitations for the retreat, which is referred to as a way to provide such students with "additional academic resources" and "social/emotional support" on IMSA's website.
PDE claims the emails it obtained also show an IMSA official requested the school yearbook committee provide "Black/Latinx photographers" so that photos could be taken at the retreat "throughout the day," emphasizing that the event was designed for specific races.
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PDE argues the practices of the "Brotherhood and Sister Circle" discriminate against students based on race. The group is now asking the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to investigate the matter.
"The Brotherhood and Sisterhood Circle affinity group has a hard and fast rule that specifically forbids White male students. To that end, the group even prohibited a White male yearbook staff member from taking their annual affinity group photograph," Caroline Moore, the vice president of PDE, said in a statement Wednesday. "This shows deep-seated hate towards a specific demographic and cannot be tolerated."
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for IMSA told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) the school is "happy to address any questions" if OCR "wish[es] to inquire further about our student club activities."
"We believe in creating opportunities for students to celebrate their culture and discuss issues that reflect their identities," the spokesperson told CITC.
IMSA previously faced controversy over an "Equity and Excellence" policy it adopted in 2018. At the time, the policy stated "diversity" can be achieved through "tracking the numerical and proportional representation of various racial and ethnic groups among students and employees.”
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The policy also asserted IMSA would use an "equity lens" when "considering major policies, programs, practices, or decisions in order to realize more equitable outcomes."
In December, a separate Illinois high school was chastised by PDE for offering math and English courses specifically for Black and "Latinx" students. Officials said the options were introduced to help "reduce performance anxiety" and provide a "more familiar setting" for certain students.
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