SALINE, MI - Four Saline High School students have filed a federal lawsuit claiming the school district should not be able to discipline them for sending racist messages to fellow students in a Snapchat group.

The four unidentified students filed the lawsuit Tuesday, Feb. 11, in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming the district suspended two students, who have since returned to classes, while expulsion has been recommended for two others. The students who returned to classes did so after they “completed a class on racism,” according to the lawsuit.

“The school is acting outside the scope of its authority, has no legal right to impose the discipline carried out, and has violated our clients’ constitutional rights by their reckless and hasty rush to judgment,” David A. Kallman, attorney for the children, said in a statement.

The lawsuit claims the district does not have authority to punish the students for sending the messages because they were sent from their “homes, privately owned phones, on a non-school day.”

The students are seeking a declaration that the district’s actions were unconstitutional, the lawsuit states.

It asks for a complete expungement of any reference to suspension or expulsion from their transcripts and records and that changes be made to district policies and procedures so no other students are punished for engaging in non-school related and off-campus free speech.

The lawsuit also asks that the students be awarded legal costs and attorney fees.

The incident involving the Snapchat group was brought to the district’s attention Monday, Jan. 27, Saline Superintendent Scot Graden previously said in a letter to parents. Administrators conducted an investigation and determined the incident represents “an act of racism that created harm to all of our students, especially students of color," Graden wrote.

Graden, at the time, declined to say whether any students had been disciplined.

The Snapchat occurred on a Sunday evening between “friends and acquaintances,” a news release from Kallman states.

“African-American and Caucasian children were using inappropriate and offensive language in a joking manner and in the context of immature banter among friends," the release states. “The conversation did not occur at the school, at a school event, or on any school equipment. While all the children are embarrassed by their language, it does not justify the school’s rush to judgment and overreaction.”

The lawsuit questions who disciplines a child when they misbehave at home: The local public school or the parent, Kallman said.

“If a child gets stopped for drunk driving on a Saturday night, does the school have the right to expel that student? The answer is obvious. No,” Kallman wrote. “The conversation of these children had nothing to do with the school. It has no authority to discipline students for out of school misbehavior.”

The lawsuit claims Saline Area Schools has a policy that states that “[m]isconduct occurring outside of school may also be disciplined if it interferes with the school environment.” However, the lawsuit claims the policy provides no definition for “gross misconduct” and does not indicate any limiting principle as to how it may be invoked.

The lawsuit was filed against the Saline Area Schools Board of Education, Graden, Assistant Superintendent Steve Laatsch, Saline High School Principal David Raft, Saline High School Assistant Principal and football coach Joe Palka, Assistant Principal Theresa Stager, Director of Student Services Molly Garcia and Assistant Principal Kirk Evenson.

The lawsuit was filed shortly before a Saline School Board meeting Tuesday. Graden and members of the board were immediately unavailable for comment. During the meeting, students and community members gathered to speak out about the district’s response to the incident and diversity within the district.

They wore black T-shirts with the message #OUTNUMBERED, building off a video students produced rebuffing racism and xenophobia, with around a 20 students standing up in unison to deliver public comment.

The Snapchat messages, which were provided to The Ann Arbor News/MLive, took place in a previously existing Snapchat group. The group’s history showed several students were added to the group prior to a number of racist messages being exchanged in a lengthy and somewhat incoherent chat primarily between two individuals.

New members were introduced to the group with one individual posting “My ni****,” followed by another individual who wrote “Sup n***.” The name of the group also was changed to “Racist," featuring two gorilla emojis.

The same two individuals continued to share messages with the group, with one individual posting messages including “WHITE POWER” and “THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN."

Several individuals who were either members of the chat or who were invited into the chat left the group after the racist messages were shared. However, two members of the group continued in the chat with one addressing the other “(name redacted) we are slowly loosing (sic) numbers if ya know what I mean.”

The lawsuit claims two students separate students - one African-American and one was Caucasian - started the group on Jan. 26. The lawsuit claims the district disciplined the Caucasian child.

After several racist terms were used in the chat, one of the African-American children jokingly suggested that everyone on the chat say the “N” word at the same time to stop racism and many of the children did so, the lawsuit claims.

Students in the initial group Snapchat understood the messages to be a joke, but because some members left the group chat, what they posted was immediately erased, leaving only the texts or images posted by the remaining members in the group, the lawsuit states. After a number of black logged off the snap chat, another black student joined the group late “and was therefore unable to see the prior postings by the other African-American children.”

“The late-arriving African-American student saw the posts by the Caucasian children and recorded a video of the snap chat,” the lawsuit claims.

The incident stoked tensions in the district during subsequent school board meetings and in a community conversation, where students and parents expressed frustration and concern with the racial climate within the district.

The conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion at Saline Area Schools quickly turned volatile last week when one parent asked another why he didn’t “stay in Mexico."

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