Acadia Parish parent claims their son faces bullying and racial discrimination at Iota High School

IOTA, La. (KLFY) – A father says his foster child is being teased because of the color of his skin. 

The father says his black son has been dealing with this for a while, and nothing is being done. "I brought this information to the school I was dismissed and set aside every time I tried to address it directly with the faculty,” said Thomas Gatte. 

Gatte says his 15- year-old son was suspended from the school after getting into a fight with a student. He explains his son told him about a student continuously teasing him and calling him the N-word. "Around the beginning of February, the young man used very derogatory racial remarks telling my son that it was Black History Month. Telling him blacks can get anyway with anything and saying other very multiple racial marks,” he said. 

Gatte did acknowledge his son was wrong in getting physical with the student. "I try to teach my children that violence is never the answer. We walk away, and there's a right way to handle things,” said Gatte. He went to the school administration about the matter. When the school called him about his child being in a fight, it made him feel as if the school were aware of the situation. 

“It may or may not have been addressed. I don’t know,” said Gatte. "They only wanted to focus on what my child did wrong, and they didn't want to hear me out on the racial issue."

News 10 reached out to the Acadia Parish School Superintendent Scott Richard about this parent's concern. 

“The Acadia Parish School System promotes a positive and safe learning environment for all students, parents/guardians, staff, and the communities we serve. Allegations of inappropriate behavior that would not contribute to a safe learning environment are taken seriously and addressed according to local school board policies and the applicable state laws. While we cannot comment specifically on student discipline or personnel matters, we do work every day in all of our schools and programs to address concerns related to any inappropriate behavior that is reported,” says Richard

Gatte says his son is hurt and upset about the matter. "It's hard for him to understand how this kind of stuff can still be going on in this time,” said Gatte. The father does not want racial bullying to be an issue for his son. He thinks a solution starts with the school. 

“Faculty needs to listen. I believe that if the faculty and the administration would listen more to these students and pay more attention, we could crush a lot of this racial inequality that’s still going on in schools, especially in small towns like this,” said Gatte. He says the school is investigating the matter.