The Citrus County School District in Florida is facing a lawsuit alleging that two black women who scored highly on an adult skills test were erroneously accused of cheating.

They were allegedly told, “You people don’t score that high.” 

Leila Jackson-Burch is suing for discrimination, defamation, and false imprisonment, and is being represented by the Florida Civil Rights Association. They hope to find out if there is widespread, systemic racism within the Citrus County school system.

According to the allegations, the women were accused of cheating, and then asked to return their tests. When Jackson-Burch refused and tried to leave the facility by car, one of the administrators blocked the car with her body.

From Reuters:

“Three deputies arrived, and Jackson-Burch allowed them to make a warrantless search of her cell phone, according to the lawsuit. In the subsequent sheriff’s report, a deputy wrote that they found no evidence of cheating and that Jackson-Burch believed the incident was racially motivated, the lawsuit stated.

The administrators notified the Florida Department of Education, the Orange County School Board and Columbia College where Jackson-Burch had been a student for three years, that she had cheated, and refused to validate her TABE test score for eight months, causing her to miss out on a pre-planned nursing course, according to the lawsuit.”

Read the rest of this article at Reuters.com

 

Do you think there is systemic racism within the Citrus County school district?

Have you ever been accused of cheating because of your race?

Sound off below!