‘Deliberate indifference’: Eagle family sues West Ada schools, alleges racism, bullying
This story was updated on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, to reflect changes made that day to the lawsuit filed four days earlier. Max Williams, the Boise lawyer for the family suing, said he corrected the spellings of two family members’ first names, removed allegations that two children in the family were subjected to threats, removed as defendants two teachers named in the original lawsuit, and removed an allegation that one of those teachers repeatedly made racial slurs against one of the children.
Months after raising concerns in a tort claim alleging racial harassment at Eagle High School, a family has sued Ada County, the West Ada School District and its superintendent.
The lawsuit, filed by Eagle High graduate Jaeyden Hodge and her parents, Manzo and Christina Hodge, on behalf of their other daughter, a minor who is not named in the suit, alleges violations of the students’ constitutional rights, including equal protection and due process.
The Hodge sisters faced “continuous” harassment from other students starting in 2021, according to the complaint. Both “were subjected to racial slurs and humiliation from school staff and students.”
The original lawsuit had said the sisters also faced threats, including messages on social media encouraging the family’s younger daughter to ‘kill yourself.’” The revised lawsuit deletes that.
Students openly referred to the sisters using racial epithets in hallways and classrooms “without fear of reprisal,” according to the lawsuit. Despite the family’s numerous attempts to bring their concerns to school and district officials, the defendants “failed to act to address or mitigate the racial hostility,” they allege.
“Defendants demonstrated deliberate indifference to the racial harassment and bullying endured” by the Hodges’ daughters, the complaint says.
The family also made accusations against two Eagle High School teachers. One allegedly made “repeated and inappropriate” use of racial slurs in class. This “emboldened other students to engage in similar behavior,” according to the complaint.
The original lawsuit named the teachers as defendants, but the revised one removed them and deleted their names, while retaining the allegations against them. The revised lawsuit removed the allegation about the slurs being directed at one daughter.
“It was decided shortly after filing the original complaint that several of the named defendants were listed in error, specifically the two teachers and vice principal,” Williams told the Statesman in an emailed statement on Thursday. “We have removed them so that we can focus on what we want to accomplish with this lawsuit, which is accountability and change which we believe falls on the school district, superintendent, and Ada County.”
The family seeks financial damages from the defendants but does not specify an amount in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boise.
A spokesperson for the West Ada School District did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. In July, soon after Manzo Hodge filed a tort claim — putting the district and county on notice of a possible lawsuit — both the district and the Ada County Commission declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
At the time, West Ada Superintendent Derek Bub told the Statesman, “Our priority, as always, remains the well-being and integrity of our students, staff and community.” Niki Scheppers, a spokesperson for the district, said then that West Ada thoroughly investigates such allegations “to ensure corrective action if needed.”
Lawsuit comes amid concerns of racism in Boise-area schools
Concerns about harassment go beyond Eagle High School, five parents in the West Ada School District — Idaho’s largest — told the Idaho Statesman in recent weeks. Thirty-three parents expressed similar concerns in an October letter to the district.
Parents said racism among students was widespread throughout the Boise area, and they expressed frustration about what they called inaction and denial among school and district officials.
West Ada aims to maintain students’ privacy and resolve conflicts among students at the lowest level possible, and because of privacy regulations, the district cannot always provide victims’ families with closure, Scheppers told the Statesman in July.
In November, Williams told the Statesman that the family planned to sue largely to ensure that its case and others like it aren’t “brushed under the rug.”
“We do believe that this is for public consumption,” Williams said. “The public needs to know.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
