Racial Slur On Student T-Shirts Leads To Apology By MoCo Schools

SANDY SPRING, MD — A racial slur was used in the design of a senior class T-shirt for students at Sherwood High School, prompting an apology from Montgomery County Public Schools and investigation into how the design was approved, reports said.

A letter written by MCPS Chief of the Division of School Leadership and Improvement Peter Moran and Nyah Hamlett, chief of the Division of Equity and Organizational Development, on Thursday said the district is working to determine how the shirt design came to be approved, Bethesda Today reported.

“There is no excuse for this. Whether the incorporation of this slur was intentional or the result of negligence and a failure in our approval processes, it is unacceptable and wrong,” the letter said.

Officials said the shirt design uses a “combination of letters and numbers intended to celebrate the Class of 2026,” but which resembles the N-word.

Seniors were asked to return the shirts, and they will receive a new one at no cost, The Washington Post reported. A new class photo will be taken.

The school district has no standard process for approving class T-shirts, schools spokeswoman Liliana López told the Post.

In September of 2024, a rope tied in the shape of a noose was found on school grounds, Bethesda Today reported.