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SWANSEA, Ill. (AP) — A southwestern Illinois school district has settled a federal civil rights complaint filed by a family who says their son was the target of racial slurs and bullying.
Wolf Branch School District 113 in Swansea signed a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights in late March, the Belleville News-Democrat (bit.ly/1PGmQFM ) reported.
The voluntary agreement requires the school district to revise its bullying policy as well as its system for handling grievances.
Superintendent Scott Harres said the government's determination that no federal laws were violated "affirms the district did act appropriately" in responding to complaints by the parents of Dwayne Acoff Jr., who is black, about his treatment at Wolf Branch Middle School. The seven-page agreement notes that the resolution "shall not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing" on the district's part.
"We are already doing a majority of what was in the agreement," Harres said. "We are certainly making a concerted effort to try to minimize the chances of harassment or anything like that occurring in the future."
Premissa Acoff, the student's mother, said the family pursued the complaint to make sure other children weren't treated improperly. Her son is now a freshman at Belleville East High School.
"It's heightened the awareness — no one wants a repeat performance," she said. "The school is a better place for it, and the kids will be better for it, and I know my family is better for it."
A civil lawsuit filed by the family has since been dropped.
Among the school district's new efforts since the complaint was filed last year are the creation of cultural diversity committee in cooperation with the Center for Racial Harmony in Belleville.
The school has also worked with the Anti-Defamation League, a national organization with an office in St. Louis, to bring its World of Difference initiative to Wolf Branch Middle School.
The federal agency will monitor the district's compliance with the agreement through November 2016.
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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com
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