Federal Civil Rights Complaint Accuses Cherry Creek Schools of Race-Based Discipline and Retaliation

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice

Federal civil-rights complaints over equity policy are no longer confined to a single district in Colorado. Durango Public Schools is facing civil rights complaints, while a separate federal lawsuit challenges the state’s anti-discrimination law under House Bill 25-1312.

A federal civil-rights complaint now puts Cherry Creek School District under scrutiny over allegations of race-based discrimination and retaliation.

In its press release, America First Legal says Cherry Creek has “branded student misconduct ‘culturally appropriate’ and blocked discipline based on race,” claiming the district has replaced equal treatment with an unlawful double standard.

Alleged Double Standard in Student Discipline

Much of AFL’s case centers on Campus Middle School in Greenwood Village. The complaint says Cherry Creek “favors and affords leniency to Black students when compared to students of other races” under the banner of “culturally responsive” discipline.

One example, in the complaint, is a video recorded—off campus—during Thanksgiving break in 2023, showing a white student and Hispanic classmate using the n-word.

An Asian classmate filmed the video but remained silent throughout.

AFL says Campus Middle School suspended all three girls and initiated expulsion proceedings.

The complaint then describes what happened with two other students. A Black student at Campus allegedly obtained the video from the Asian student’s phone and sent it to her sister, a Black student at Cherry Creek High School. The sister is accused of posting the clip publicly, tagging the other girls’ accounts, and writing, “reason why ion [I don’t] f*** with white people period.” AFL notes that the two sisters were not disciplined, even though their conduct matched Cherry Creek’s own definitions of cyberbullying and behavior “detrimental to the welfare, morals, or safety of other students.”

In this account, three girls—two appearing in the video and one who filmed it—face suspensions and expulsion hearings for months, while the two students who helped push the video into wider circulation allegedly see no formal consequences.

The complaint also cites a separate incident where an Asian student received a suspension for conduct AFL describes as “materially identical” to behavior by two Black students who were not suspended. AFL argues these cases point to a discipline system that no longer operates by the same rules for every student.

Inside the Whistleblower Meeting

AFL’s filing also leans on internal audio from Campus Middle School, including a roughly 40-minute leadership meeting recorded by a whistleblower and posted by AFL as a campus leadership video.

In that audio-video supplied to AFL, administrators and staff talk candidly about one student’s ongoing behavior and the role of the district’s Equity Department. Several participants say they no longer feel they can enforce basic expectations. 

One describes it as “really hard for us to do our job and actually enforce behavioral expectations throughout the building,” while another says they have “no ability really to enforce anything at this point unless it is in writing in policy.”

The discussion centers around a Black student who often skips class, challenges teachers, and disrupts other students—according to staff. When they attempt to address her behavior, they say her parents accuse them of racial bias which prompts district equity officials to step in and take control.

At one point, the principal describes how district equity officials characterize the student’s conduct. As recounted in the complaint and the recording, equity leaders insist the student is communicating in a way that is “culturally appropriate” for her and argue that “the whiteness that is present in our building” is interpreting her behavior as disrespectful, disruptive, or defiant.

One administrator says the district’s approach is “making us act in an unethical manner.” Others say that when they do impose suspensions, those decisions can be reversed after calls from district equity staff, leaving school leaders feeling undercut.

AFL points to this recording as evidence of an unwritten second track for discipline—one where equity officials can reinterpret behavior through race and “culturally appropriate” communication and override the consequences that would normally follow.

Equity Training and the Hogarty Retaliation Claim

The filing goes further, alleging the district retaliated against staff who resisted its equity framework. The central example is Patrick Hogarty, the former Dean of Students at Campus Middle School.

Hogarty is already suing the district in a separate case, Hogarty v. Cherry Creek School District, et al., with AFL serving as his counsel.

According to the civil-rights filing, Hogarty attended a mandatory “Courageous Conversations” equity training. During an exercise about what it means to be White, he reportedly told the group that he identifies as an American and is proud of his country.

The complaint says Cherry Creek’s Executive Director of Equity, Culture, and Community Engagement later criticized Hogarty for not “acknowledging what people of color go through” and for failing to agree that America is systemically racist. AFL says he eventually learned that his remarks were described internally as having “racist undertones.”

About a month later, Hogarty was told his position had been eliminated for “budgetary reasons,” tied, the district said, to a reduction in full-time equivalent staffing. AFL points to Cherry Creek’s own adopted financial plans, which show Campus Middle School’s staffing count increasing from 116.66 in 2023–24 to 117.35 in 2024–25, and argues that cutting the dean’s role during that increase looks more like pretext than a necessary budget move.

When he questioned whether his comments during the equity training played a role, the complaint says he was placed on administrative leave and ultimately removed.

CPAN Backs Complaint, Cites Years of Warnings

In a statement to Rocky Mountain Voice, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network said it has been raising alarms about Cherry Creek’s equity model for years.

“For several years, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN) has warned that Cherry Creek School District’s race-based ‘equity’ frameworks were leading to unequal standards, inconsistent discipline, and students being treated as racial categories rather than individuals,” Executive Director Lori Gimelshteyn said. She noted that in February 2024, CPAN received a detailed incident report from Campus Middle School Dean Patrick Hogarty and “spent months carefully documenting evidence, recordings, and timelines showing racial disparities in discipline and a hostile work environment.”

Gimelshteyn said CPAN has also filed its own civil-rights complaints with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, documenting what the group describes as “egregious race-based practices, racially segregated programs, and professional development that assigns value or culpability based on skin color rather than conduct.”

“Parents want an honest education, strong academics, and equal treatment under the law, not practices and policies that excuse misconduct or impose consequences based on race,” the statement continued. “Federal oversight is now underway, and the community deserves clear answers about how these practices were allowed to take root in Cherry Creek schools.”

What began as a single incident report from one educator, she said, “has now drawn national attention.” CPAN is encouraging parents, educators, and community members to use its Incident Reporting Tool so future concerns are documented and examined rather than ignored. She also pointed to a 2023 issue brief CPAN collaborated on with the America First Policy Institute that she says provides broader context on Cherry Creek’s policies.

What America First Legal Wants Federal Officials to Do

In a letter to federal civil rights officials, America First Legal  is calling for a thorough investigation into the Cherry Creek School District. The group urges a review of discipline records, equity policies, training materials, recordings, and hiring practices…and asks for corrective steps if Title VI violations are found.

The complaint says the incidents it describes are “by no means exhaustive,” but are offered as examples of what AFL calls “systemic and ideologically motivated” civil-rights violations carried out while the district continues to receive federal funds.

At this stage, the filing is only a request. It’s up to federal civil rights officials to decide whether to launch a formal investigation and determine any necessary actions for the district.