MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — A Michigan school district has responded to news that a father has filed a $1 million lawsuit alleging his biracial daughter was the victim of racial discrimination when a staffer cut her hair.

Jimmy Hoffmeyer on Tuesday, Sept. 14, filed his federal lawsuit on behalf of daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer in the Western District of Michigan. The suit names Mount Pleasant Public Schools, librarian Kelly Mogg, and teacher assistant Kristen Jacobs as defendants.

The district on Thursday, Sept. 16, issued a statement saying it is aware of the lawsuit but has not been formally served the complaint.

“We are confident that the facts will prevail given our district’s appropriate and aggressive response to the incident and the findings of the third-party investigation that was conducted,” the district wrote. “We will aggressively defend against these baseless allegations in court and will not allow this to distract us from our mission to provide every child a world-class education that prepares them for college and careers.”

As the lawsuit is pending in the court system, the district said it will refrain from any additional comments on the advice of its legal counsel.

Jurnee was a student at Ganiard Elementary School, 101 S. Adams St., in Mount Pleasant. On March 24, a classmate of Jurnee’s used scissors taken from a classroom to cut Jurnee’s hair while they were on a school bus, the suit states. The student did this without Jurnee’s permission, according to the suit.

Prior to this, Jurnee had long, curly hair. Hoffmeyer is Black while Jurnee’s mother is white. After the haircutting incident, Hoffmeyer removed Jurnee from Ganiard.

Hoffmeyer took his daughter to a beautician, who gave Jurnee an asymmetrical haircut. A few days later, Jurnee came home from school with nearly all her hair cut off, down to a couple of inches from her scalp, the suit states.

“Jurnee’s Library Teacher, Ms. Mogg had cut off her remaining hair with the assistance and/or acquiescence of Ms. Jacobs,” the suit states. This was done without permission from Jurnee or her parents, according to the suit. “The Defendants failed to properly train, monitor, direct, discipline, and supervise their employees, and knew or should have known that the employees would engage in the complained of behavior given the improper training, customs, procedures, and policies, and the lack of discipline that existed for employees.”

In the suit, Hoffmeyer contends the defendants violated Jurnee’s constitutional rights, and therefore are not entitled to qualified immunity. The defendants’ conduct amounted to “deliberate indifference” and was “obdurate” or “wanton,” the suit further states.

The suit contains eight counts:

· Violation of the Fourteenth Amendment

· Deliberate indifference-violation of due process and the Fourth Amendment

· Deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs through official custom, policy, or practice

· Racial discrimination in violation of the Michigan Civil Rights Act

· Ethnic intimidation

· Intentional infliction of emotional distress

· Assault and battery

· Violation of Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act

The third-party investigation referenced in the district’s response concluded Mogg did not act with racial bias and thus could keep her job. The Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education announced the investigation’s findings on July 2.

“The third-party independent investigation included interviews with and feedback from district personnel, students, families as well as a review of video and photographic evidence including social media posts,” the board stated.

The investigation’s key findings were as follows:

· On March 26, an elementary student’s hair was cut by a MPPS employee without parent knowledge and without the knowledge of district administrators.

· Cutting a student’s hair on school grounds either with or without parent permission is a clear violation of school policy.

There is no evidence the incident was motivated by racial bias.

The board added that the third-party inquiry was performed in addition to an internal review by the school district’s administration. That probe included conducting interviews and reviewing video footage and photographic evidence.

“The key takeaways in both reviews are consistent,” the board stated.

The board ruled to place Mogg on a “last chance” employment agreement, during which time any future violations “will likely result in termination.” Superintendent Jennifer Verleger recommended the discipline and was supported by the board.

“We believe a last chance agreement is appropriate given that the employee has an outstanding record of conduct and has never once been reprimanded in more than 20 years of work at MPPS,” the board wrote. “In addition, Superintendent Verleger has recommended and the Board has accepted written reprimands for two additional MPPS employees who were aware of the incident but did not alert the student’s parents or the Administration.”

The reprimands were to go in the employees’ files.

“Our main purpose with the independent investigation has been to bring the facts to light, learn from this incident and make our district even stronger,” the board wrote. “To achieve our mission of providing a world-class education to all MPPS students, we must continuously strive to improve and acknowledge when we have not lived up to our own high standards.”