Complaint Sparks Investigation Of IL School District For Discriminatory Practices

EVANSTON, IL — The U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Office has launched an investigation into Evanston-Skokie School District 65 based on complaints from a teacher that accuse the district of racial discrimination.

This is the second OCR complaint filed by Stacy Deemar, a white drama teacher who works at Nichols Middle School in Evanston. According to her complaint, the school district engages in racial segregation and stereotyping though practices like "privilege walks" and District-sponsored affinity groups.

“The policies and practices to which the District allegedly subjects students and teachers shocks the conscience. Amid a dismal academic achievement record, the District appears to focus on unlawfully segregating students by race, instructing students to step forward and others to step back on the basis of race, and associating ‘whiteness’ with the devil. If true, how is this conceivable in America today?”

During President Donald Trump's first administration in 2019, Deemar filed a Title IV complaint against the district, and the Office of Civil Rights determined the district violated Title IV. That complaint was dismissing in 2024 by the Biden Administration.

Deemar, of Wilmette, has taught in the district since 2002. She currently teaches part-time at Nichols Middle School and previously taught part-time at King Arts, Haven Middle School and Kingsley Elementary, according to her complaint. In 2015, she was honored with an Award of Excellence in Creative Drama from the Illinois Theater Association.

According to the DOE, Deemar took issue with many District policies that "constitute racial discrimination and stereotyping." District policies and practices included in the South Eastern Legal Foundation complaint include:

• Directing staff and students to participate in segregated privilege walks;
• Sponsoring affinity groups for both students and staff restricted on the basis of race;
• Training seminars to increase racial literacy;
• Pressuring educators to acknowledge white privilege;
• Instructing all teachers from Pre-K through fifth grade to read a contentious children's book, "Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness";
• Employing lesson plans for grade-school students urging readers to "disrupt the Western nuclear family dynamics."

“SLF is thankful that the Trump Administration recognizes that enough is enough and, following Dr. Deemar’s new OCR complaint, has launched an investigation into unconscionable racial discrimination in District 65 - Evanston, IL,” said Southeastern Legal Foundation Executive Director Kimberly Hermann.“Ever since the wrongful withdrawal four years ago of the Department of Education’s finding that District 65’s racial segregation, equity training, discipline policy, and other racially discriminatory policies violated America’s civil rights laws, Dr. Deemar has waited patiently for the harms inflicted by the Biden Administration to be rectified."

District 65's approach to racial and educational equity is detailed on its website, and includes the institution's efforts to eliminate institutional structures and practices that affect student learning and achievement.

"District 65 recognizes that excellence requires a commitment to equity and to identifying and addressing practices, policies, and institutional barriers, including institutional racism, that perpetuate opportunity and achievement gaps," the statement reads.

The probe in District 65 comes just days after a similar investigation into Chicago Public Schools for its "Black Student Success Plan," which the Trump administration argues is discriminatory against other races.

Related:

• White Teacher Suing Over 'Antiracism' In Evanston Schools Pushes For Discovery Drama
• Teacher's Discrimination Suit Falls 'Woefully Short,' District 65 Says In New Filing
• 'Anti-Racist' Teaching Is Racist, Unconstitutional, District 65 Teacher Says
• Racist Voicemail, Vandalism Follow Teacher's Lawsuit, Administrators Say
• 'White Victimhood': District 65 Drama Teacher's Lawsuit Condemned