Richfield Schools will pay $300K to settle discrimination complaint after shooting

A federal judge approved a $300,000 settlement agreement Wednesday from Richfield Public Schools to three students who alleged the district imposed discriminatory disciplinary practices on them after gunshots were fired at a homecoming game.

The Richfield Public School District confirmed the case had been settled, but declined to comment. The district did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement agreement, which was filed in federal court. Margaret O’Sullivan Kane, the lawyer representing the families who filed the lawsuit, also confirmed the settlement agreement but did not comment further.

The federal civil rights lawsuit was filed in August 2023 by Leah Harris and her twin sons, who are African American and Asian American, and Tara Behl and her son, who has a disability. The mothers alleged that although their sons were not involved in the September 2022 shooting, administrators suspended them, subjected them to daily searches, banned them from extracurricular activities, and required them to have an escort in order to move throughout the school.

“The daily restrictions included a search of their persons consisting of empty pockets, lifting up pant legs, remove shoes, opening and checking waistbands, and opening containers to smell for alcohol,” the lawsuit alleged. “A comprehensive search of their belongings included opening and rummaging through backpacks.”

Richfield High School administrators also confiscated the students’ phones daily, and prohibited them from participating in extracurricular activities, including athletics and prom, according to the lawsuit. Outside of passing time, lunch, and recess, the three teenagers could only go to the bathroom if they had an adult escorting them.

The boys found the restrictions humiliating and confusing, Kane told Sahan Journal in August 2023.

“A shooting at a public school is a really profoundly difficult thing to understand,” she said. “We want to make sure that our schools are safe. But there has to be some causal connection in order for you to be punishing children.”

The funds will come from the district’s insurance company.