A St. Cloud school says a handful of its students harassed their Somali classmates, but some of the allegations have been difficult to prove.
For the past two months, school leaders in St. Cloud have been trying to get to the bottom of some serious allegations.
Minnesota's Council on American-Islamic Relations says, in the past year, Somali students were targeted by non-Somali students or teachers at St. Cloud Apollo High School on eight separate occasions.
When, the report was turned over to the U.S. Department of Education, the school district did its own investigation.
On top of the eight reports, it found 13 more that involved white students picking on Somali kids and the other way around.
Seven of the eight original complaints could not be confirmed, including such alleged incidents as a teacher using air freshener when Muslim students walked into the room, or a bus driver intentionally leaving Somali students at a bus stop and yelling "Catch me if you can" as she drove by.
One incident administrators found to be true involved non-Somali students offering bacon to Somali students, who, for religious reasons, do not eat pork.
The district says every student found to be bullying or name-calling was punished. No teachers were punished.
CAIR says it would like to see Apollo High School use these incidents as teaching opportunities and take proactive steps to promote tolerance and respect for all students. The school says that's already happening.
The Department of Education's civil rights division is still deciding if it will investigate.
Superintendent Steve Jordahl announced the week after the allegations were turned over to the Department of Education that he would step down, but he said this investigation played only a minor part in his decision to leave at the end of the month, and that he was doing so more for personal reasons.
Source: wcco.com
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