A teacher who warned the class to check their bags after a black student went into a change room alone, saying he didn’t trust the teen not to steal.

Elementary school kids repeatedly called the N-word by classmates — a slur one heartbroken mother was forced to explain to her 10-year-old daughter.

A teen, beaten and racially taunted by classmates in an incident captured on video and widely reported in the news, whose family says as soon as the cameras went away so did any effort by the board to deal with it.

These are examples of discrimination parents say their children have faced in York Region public schools — incidents they say the board has failed to properly address, prompting some to go to the province’s human rights tribunal for resolution.

A spokesperson said the board couldn’t comment on specific cases, but “we can assure you that any matters of this nature brought to our attention are taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and acted on appropriately.”

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Mom Charline Grant has filed a complaint with Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal, saying there have been too many instances where her teenage son, the only black male in his grade at his Woodbridge high school, has been the target of staff because of his race and religion.

In an interview, Grant said she grew increasingly frustrated as her complaints went nowhere, and the troubles continued. Her son has been called “intimidating” for just looking at teachers, or “angry” when he speaks out, she said.

In the complaint, she said her son was singled out by a school coach for leaving practice early to attend a religious feast — the boy is a member of the small community who refer to themselves as Israelites — and then benched the next day because he must be “full” from eating.Now “he feels like he has no rights and his concerns are not taken seriously ... We are greatly concerned for (our son). This stereotype and profiling that because he is black he is automatically a thief and he is guilty is greatly concerning to us,” she wrote, referring to the change room incident.

The school board has not yet filed a response to the complaint.

The board is also facing concerns over the recent, surprise shutdown of a committee aimed to support the “board’s commitment to equitable and inclusive schools and workplaces,” leaving many to wonder just how serious it is about serving its diverse population.

“Everything is swept under the rug,” said Shernett Martin, executive director of the Vaughan African Canadian Association, herself a certified teacher who has written curriculum for university students on inclusion.

“The board purports to be about inclusive education and equity,” but nothing is done. “What has been happening in the board has been going on for far too long, and it’s wrong.”

Charles Makuto, whose son was videotaped being assaulted and called the N-word by a group of teens at Sutton District High School in 2014 told the Star in a recent interview he felt “the board didn’t do enough” such as offer the counselling it promised.

“Nobody wants to rock the boat,” said Makuto, whose son’s case was settled at the human rights tribunal.

A board spokesperson said he couldn’t speak to that specific incident, but said “inclusive schools and community services teams were deployed at the school.”

According to the Vaughan African Canadian Association, at least half a dozen black families in York Region are considering a class-action lawsuit, frustrated the board has been indifferent to their concerns. The Star independently talked to five families who expressed concerns about discrimination their children had faced in schools.

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Martin said she had been requesting a meeting with the board for months, but only heard back after the Star began its investigation.

“Even after the (Sutton) incident, and the amount of phone calls and emails and meetings, nothing came of that. Something as huge as that, all over the media, and nothing happened,” Martin said.

In more than a dozen interviews, staff, parents and community members told theStarthey are concerned the board appeared to be deliberately targeting policies, committees and programs meant to ensure a more equitable experience for students and staff.

In an email response to the Star, director J. Philip Parappally said equity is one of the foundational principles of the school board, and that it has made “no significant changes” to such programs or policies other than to add resources and improve co-ordination.

However, one contentious decision came last December when the board cancelled the “Every Student Counts” student survey, similar to one routinely conducted by the Toronto public board to create targeted supports for groups of struggling kids.

York board chair Anna DeBartolo announced the news in a letter to members of the Equity and Inclusivity Committee. Previously, she had publicly stated it was merely “on hold.”

In the letter, obtained by the Star, DeBartolo told the committee, which pushed for the survey, that the board would only “collect additional student demographic data when the Ministry of Education mandates such a survey.” It’s unclear if the ministry will take such a step, though it is studying how it could be done.

The board has also cited the survey’s high cost, around $311,000, as a reason to kill it.

In the letter, DeBartolo also announced the sudden dissolution of the equity committee itself — just one year into its four-year mandate and after a rigorous process to bring volunteers on board.

“The committee was dismantled without much notice,” said Alick Siu, a community member, who had put forward a motion with fellow community member Vidya Shah at the fall meeting endorsing the need for the survey. “When that happens, people may do speculation, which is not good for the board.”

Parappally told the Star the committee is being reconstituted to make it more “effective” and add representatives of communities like the LGBTQ. But members of the past committee said the new one appears to have “diluted” goals, and will have four meetings a year instead of six.

Renu Mandhane, the new chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, said many public institutions are moving toward data collection. “Most school boards are moving in this direction, so it is sad that the York school board is taking a step backward when they had initially publicly supported it.”

Noor Javed, the Star’s York Region reporter, can be reached at njaved@thestar.ca or 416-869-4753.