Leander ISD Disciplines Students In Racist Theft Incident

LEANDER, TX — The Leander ISD officials this week condemned a July incident during which a group of teens — including students from Cedar Park middle and high schools — stole Black Lives Matter signs at a local neighborhood as one young person uttered a racial slur.

In a strongly worded joint statement issued Wednesday, Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing, Cedar Park High School Principal John Sloan and Cedar Park Middle School Principal Keith Morgan said the students involved have been disciplined given the district's zero-tolerance policy on bigotry.

"Leander ISD condemns racism in any form," school officials began before recapping the incident that occurred in the Twin Creeks neighborhood. "We are extremely upset and saddened by the actions of the students involved, which directly harmed our community and reflect negatively on themselves, their families, classmates, teachers, and schools. Those involved have received consequences in accordance with the district’s disciplinary standards and campus principals continue to meet with families to address their individual questions and concerns."

Given privacy guidelines, district officials said they are unable to comment on specifics related to the incident or details on the disciplinary action taken. However, officials added: "Our district stance on racism has not changed, and we will not tolerate racism on our campuses and in our extracurricular activities. We believe our current and former students have bravely shined a light on where intolerance and bigotry exist in Leander ISD, and it is extremely upsetting to see this kind of attack in our community."

The incident has sparked a learning experience across the district, officials said, particularly at the campuses attended by those who participated in the incident: "The groups and classrooms connected to these students will need to grapple with and learn from this terrible incident," officials wrote. "Disciplinary action plays its part. So does peer-to-peer discourse and shared learning from mistakes and failure. Both campuses have staff members (and students at CPHS) leading conversations around equity, diversity, and access on our campuses. This will continue to be a focus area for our entire district and we are using the incident that occurred this summer as an opportunity to grow as individuals, educators, and as a community."