DOJ ‘satisfied’ with Davis School District’s response to racial harassment allegations

FARMINGTON, Utah (ABC4) — The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly “satisfied” with the Davis School District after the two entered a settlement agreement in 2021 over allegations of racial harassment and discrimination.

Davis School District officials said they had received a letter from the DOJ late last week. That letter reportedly said the department was going to no longer monitor Davis School District, recognizing the school district for its “urgent and sustained implementation of the anti-discrimination remedies.”

The Davis School District, which serves over 70,000 students as of 2024,

entered the agreement after a two-year-long investigation revealed there were hundreds of documented uses of the N-word, multiple racial epithets, derogatory racial comments, and physical assaults targeting students at several schools. The DOJ also found black students were disciplined more harshly than white students and weren’t afforded the same opportunities given to white students.

The settlement agreement required the Davis School District to adopt a “strategic improvement plan” designed to remove harassment and discrimination within its schools. The improvement plan included creating an Office of Equal Opportunity, revamping its policies and procedures, implementing a vigorous staff training program, and creating a complaint management system and procedure, among others.

In their assessment of the school district, the Department of Justice indicated the school district had implemented “various mechanisms” that would ensure anti-discrimination safeguards will continue to be effective even after the DOJ stops monitoring the agreement’s progress.

Dr. Dan Lanford, the Davis School District Superintendent said the school district still has a long journey ahead of it to achieve the culture and climate it seeks for all its students but district officials are encouraged by the positive feedback they have heard so far.

“We have confidence that the systems we have built will ensure our accountability in upholding our students’ constitutional rights,” said Lanford. “We hope to be a model of what is possible when earnest leaders and communities come together to improve the lives of children.”