WILL Files Federal Civil Rights Complaint Against Wauwatosa School District for Race Discrimination

The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against the Wauwatosa School District (WSD) for its plan to shut down the Wauwatosa STEM School, currently ranked the fifth-best elementary school in Wisconsin by U.S News and World Report. The District’s racially discriminatory plan also includes phasing out other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) programs because too many white students use the programs. In our complaint, WILL highlights a current WSD school board member, who will provide further evidence that WSD’s actions are racially motivated.  

The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, declared, “Shutting down science and math programs because too many white students are in the program is despicable, and illegal. As we promised to do, WILL is taking every legal action available to reverse this damaging decision. If the Biden Administration does not open an investigation, we hope the new Trump Administration will.”  

WSD School Board Member, Michael Meier, stated, “Students and families deserve a high-quality education, which is why I am speaking out. The prolonged, arbitrary DEI-driven focus on racial composition has, in my view, undermined both education and safety, now culminating in the push to close the WSTEM school. I welcome a federal investigation and urge the public to join me in speaking out.” 

Additional Background: According to the District’s website, a task force was instructed to fix several “challenges” and “concerns” in the District, including the fact that in certain programs and schools, the “student population is not as diverse as the District’s overall population.” This is just code for race, and the District’s desire to shift around students to have a preferable balance.   

Making recommendations on which programs to offer and which schools to operate based on the racial demographics of the students using those programs violates the constitutional guarantees of equal protection. Title VI asserts that all students must be treated equally, without regard to race.  

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• Complaint Filed, Dec 2024