San Diego Unified School District officials have agreed to expunge the suspension of a middle school student accused of a hate crime for wearing blackface and engaging in racist language at a football game, according to a legal settlement.
The settlement was approved by a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of California on Feb. 24. In the original lawsuit filed last year, the plaintiff, identified only as J.A., accused the principal of Muirlands Middle School (MMS) in La Jolla and a former district superintendent of violating his free-speech and due-process rights under the First and 14th Amendments.
The plaintiff’s attorneys, including counsel for the Maryland-based Center for American Liberty, initially sought to enjoin the defendants from continuing to punish J.A., as well as a declaration of constitutional rights violations, expungement of the student’s two-day suspension, punitive and nominal damages, and an award of attorney fees.
One of the plaintiff's attorneys expressed satisfaction that the school district agreed to the expungement.
"The false allegations of blackface on J.A.’s permanent school records could have haunted him for decades, affecting both his education and future career opportunities," Karin Sweigart told the Southern California Record in an email. "It’s a relief that the school district has finally corrected this injustice. No student should have to fight to clear their name over baseless accusations, which is why organizations like the Center for American Liberty exist -- to ensure fairness and protect fundamental rights."
In a summary of a case on its website, the Center for American Liberty said J.A. and some of his friends were merely supporting a La Jolla high school football team in 2023 by putting eye black on their faces. The intentions were innocent, no evidence of racism was presented and school officials’ allegations were “outlandish,” according to the lawsuit.
“No reasonable person would believe that a middle school kid wearing athletic eye black intended to intimidate anyone or send a racist message,” the Center for American Liberty’s summary of the case says. “But that’s just it – those who worship cancel culture don’t think reasonably. There is no place for logic, evidence or listening in the religion of cancellation.”
Michael Murad, a district spokesman, said San Diego Unified cannot discuss details on the outcome of the lawsuit because of student privacy laws.
"The district has not changed any policies as a result of this case, nor does it feel any changes are necessary," Murad told the Record in an email.
The parties’ settlement agreement is non-monetary, with plaintiffs agreeing to drop the litigation and defendants agreeing to expunge the suspension from the plaintiff’s record. A federal judge previously denied the plaintiff an injunction requiring expungement of the educational records, the settlement says.
“Thus, it appears (the) plaintiff is (at least partly) getting through settlement what he could not obtain through litigation, which strikes the court as distinctly in plaintiff’s best interest,” the order by Magistrate Judge Karen Crawford states.
The order in September of last year denying the plaintiff a preliminary injunction was signed by Judge Linda Lopez, who noted the record showed that J.A. was disciplined for another incident allegedly involving race, in which he made references to “watermelon” and “fried chicken” to a black student. In a written statement, J.A. acknowledged he made the remarks but intended them as a joke.
Lopez’s order also indicates that during the football game in question, J.A. wandered over to the visitors’ side of the field, where a cheer coach heard a group of young boys making racial slurs, including a colloquial variant of "n----." Surveillance video confirmed that J.A. was among the group of middle school students involved in the commotion, according to the order.
“Plaintiff’s argument that his two-day suspension from MMS constitutes an ‘ongoing First Amendment injury’ is without merit.,” Lopez said. “... (The) plaintiff no longer attends MMS. Additionally, (the) plaintiff fails to show how a two-day suspension from a school he no longer attends limits his First Amendment rights currently or at any time in the future.”
The initial lawsuit, however, argues the entire incident was devoid of any racist intent.
“Neither J.A.’s Hispanic friend who painted the design, nor his black friend who he was with at the time, expressed offense to J.A.’s display of warrior eye black,” the lawsuit states. “In fact, not a single person at the game expressed to J.A. or his friends that they were offended by J.A.’s … eye black.”