On June 23, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in cooperation with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, filed a complaint with the US Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights alleging that South Dakota's Winner School District (WSD) discriminates against Native American students. The ACLU contends that schools nationwide funnel Native students into a "school to prison" pipeline, and that the worst offenses occur throughout South Dakota. An ACLU investigation concluded that Indian students at WSD are disproportionately punished and the school district metes out far harsher punishments than the students' Caucasian peers receive.
The ACLU reports that during the 2002-2003 school year, American Indian children made up only 14 percent of the WSD high school student body but accounted for 85 percent of in-school suspensions and more than half of out of school suspensions. Moreover, the ACLU also reports that during that year, an overwhelming majority of the Native American student body were suspended at least once. The ACLU hopes that this complaint will help discourage other schools from discriminatory activities.
