EXCLUSIVE: Missouri AG opens investigation into school district's DEI promotion after teen's brutal beating
EXCLUSIVE: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has opened an investigation into the school district he said bears some responsibility for the brutal attack on a St. Louis teen who was seen in a viral video having her head bashed into the pavement by another student.
On Thursday, Bailey told Fox News Digital exclusively that he would be opening an investigation into the Hazelwood School District and how their DEI programs contributed to the safety failures following the violent attack.
"Hazelwood owes the parents of the district and the entire community an explanation as to what role these radical programs and safety failures played here," Bailey's staff said to Fox News Digital – emphasizing that this is the focus of the investigation.
In a letter sent to Hazelwood School District (HSD) Superintendent Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart, Bailey said he is disturbed to see that the school district has ignored long-standing Missouri law and elevated political narrative above student safety.
ST. LOUIS TEEN STILL UNCONSCIOUS, SUFFERING FROM FRACTURED SKULL AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK
Bailey said back in 2020, the HSD Board of Education adopted a "Statement of Solidarity" which influenced the district to, among other things, categorize and treat students differently based on race; "recruit, hire, and promote" staff based on race, and "reevaluate" the district's relationship with local police.
Starting in the 2021 school year, Bailey said Hazelwood removed uniformed police officers from its schools after unsuccessfully trying to subject its school resource officers (SROs) to the district's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming. He said there were no school resource officers at the school when the victim was attacked.
"As of this writing, [the victim] remains in critical condition in a St. Louis area hospital. Notably, during the attack on [the victim], which was captured on video by other students, not a single school resource officer was on the scene to protect [the victim] or restore order," Bailey said.
Bailey said because of this, the district is putting student safety at risk.
"The absence of SROs on the scene is directly attributable to Hazelwood's insistence on prioritizing race-based policies over basic student safety. By its actions, HSD has endangered not only [the victim], but the general school community writ large," said Bailey.
Bailey said the investigation will determine whether the school district violated Missouri's Human Rights Act, which "guarantees every Missouri resident the right to be free from discrimination and the right to full enjoyment of places of public accommodation."
Bailey then demanded the school district turn over a series of records related to bullying, anti-bullying and harassment, student violence, records about the decision to remove law enforcement from schools, as well as records about the district's anti-discrimination policies and DEI action plan.
"By promoting DEI and excluding uniformed law enforcement from campus in 2021, this school bears some responsibility for this incident. Yet, it has not offered a substantive apology to the victim of this violent attack who is still fighting for her life. This school owes the parents of the district an explanation as to what role these radical programs and safety failures played here," Bailey previously said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Hazelwood East High School and the Hazelwood School District for comment on the attorney general's investigation, but has not yet heard back.
Bailey also added that the suspect in the violent brawl should be tried as an adult and charged with murder if the offense rose to a homicide.
A lawyer for the victim, named Kaylee, and her family told Fox News Digital that Kaylee suffered a fractured skull that resulted in brain bleeding and swelling, and that she has still not gained consciousness.