Santa Barbara Junior High School family alleges racial slurs, violence by students
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- A Santa Barbara Junior High School parent spoke up about alleged racial slurs and violence that were used against their student at Tuesday night's Santa Barbara Unified Board of Trustees meeting.
The board heard from a "family in pain and a community in need of answers" when the parent brought the incident up during general public comment, said district spokesman Nick Masuda.
"At Santa Barbara Unified, we do not tolerate this behavior, and are committed to doing better," the district said in a statement released on ParentSquare following Tuesday's meeting.
"We stand in solidarity with our impacted community, and look forward to the ongoing education and actions that must happen."
A full investigation into the entire incident, including the violence and hate language used by students as well as supervision and review of policies and practices with staff, is being conducted, Masuda said.
"Appropriate actions" were taken with the students in question and "restorative measures have been implemented" in order to help students understand the consequences of their actions, the district said.
"We are also engaging in educational opportunities that will show the impact that their behavior had on their classmate and other students in the school," the district added.
The district and the Santa Barbara Junior High School administrative team have connected with the victim's family to assure that the student's safety is prioritized and appropriate mental health services are provided, according to the district.
The district also said that it will continue to focus on hiring employees that have a background in serving diverse populations.
"We believe that representation matters, and will continue to build our staff with that as a primary goal," the district's statement said.
"Finally, as we learn from this experience, we are reaffirming our commitment to transparency in building an anti-racist environment of which we can all be proud."
