Posted on Dec 5, 2023
Asian American mom says district failed to protect sons after swastika and racism incidents
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A Texas woman is accusing her sons’ school district of failing to condemn racism after she says they were subjected to anti-Asian American taunts on the bus, and her older boy had a swastika drawn on his shirt last year.
Hai Au Huynh, 45, told NBC News that she feels she has no choice but to speak out publicly after the incidents at Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, just outside Houston.
She described how in May of last year, a swastika was drawn on her 11-year-old son’s shirt. School officials have continuously refused to honor the family’s “stay away” request for the offending students since, Huynh said. And months earlier, in January, when a student taunted Huynh’s sons on the bus coming home from McGown Elementary School — chanting “[ch*** ch***] wing wong,” at her youngest, then 8 — officials responded that the words were “not motivated by racism.”
Huynh said she viewed surveillance video from the bus that captured the incident, but was unable to obtain a copy despite requesting it.
The school district looked into the incident and a summary of the investigation, seen by NBC News, said that the fourth-grade student was “singing a song he presumably heard from TIK TOK with the words ‘ch*** ch***.’”
Hai Au Huynh, 45, told NBC News that she feels she has no choice but to speak out publicly after the incidents at Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, just outside Houston.
She described how in May of last year, a swastika was drawn on her 11-year-old son’s shirt. School officials have continuously refused to honor the family’s “stay away” request for the offending students since, Huynh said. And months earlier, in January, when a student taunted Huynh’s sons on the bus coming home from McGown Elementary School — chanting “[ch*** ch***] wing wong,” at her youngest, then 8 — officials responded that the words were “not motivated by racism.”
Huynh said she viewed surveillance video from the bus that captured the incident, but was unable to obtain a copy despite requesting it.
The school district looked into the incident and a summary of the investigation, seen by NBC News, said that the fourth-grade student was “singing a song he presumably heard from TIK TOK with the words ‘ch*** ch***.’”
Asian American mom says district failed to protect sons after swastika and racism incidents
Posted from nbcnews.com
Racism
Houston
Children
Schools
Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 4
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“If an investigated complaint has an affirmative determination of inappropriate behavior, the campus assigns an appropriate discipline consequence according to the Student Code of Conduct,” the district said.
Huynh’s request to reinstate the district’s “Resolution Condemning Racism” was also denied. The resolution, unanimously passed in 2020 but since scrapped, had in part adopted a “No Place for Hate” program from the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League, aimed at addressing bias and bullying. In its place is a new character education program.
The district’s response stated that the elementary school did not have the authority to reinstate the resolution.
LauraAnn Novacinsk, principal of McGown Elementary School, did not return NBC News’ request for comment.
Huynh is expected to receive a response to her latest appeal by this week. She said if the district doesn’t meet her demands, she will continue fighting, escalating the issue to the Texas Education Agency.
“At the end of the day, this is a public school,” she said. “It should be fair and equitable for all of the students, and it’s not.”
..."“If an investigated complaint has an affirmative determination of inappropriate behavior, the campus assigns an appropriate discipline consequence according to the Student Code of Conduct,” the district said.
Huynh’s request to reinstate the district’s “Resolution Condemning Racism” was also denied. The resolution, unanimously passed in 2020 but since scrapped, had in part adopted a “No Place for Hate” program from the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League, aimed at addressing bias and bullying. In its place is a new character education program.
The district’s response stated that the elementary school did not have the authority to reinstate the resolution.
LauraAnn Novacinsk, principal of McGown Elementary School, did not return NBC News’ request for comment.
Huynh is expected to receive a response to her latest appeal by this week. She said if the district doesn’t meet her demands, she will continue fighting, escalating the issue to the Texas Education Agency.
“At the end of the day, this is a public school,” she said. “It should be fair and equitable for all of the students, and it’s not.”
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