OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:20 PM – Thursday, March 28, 2024
A Missouri high school is refusing to hand over records and additional information pertaining to two of its students who participated in a fight that happened off school campus, about 5 minutes away in walking distance, according to witnesses who spoke with police.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey requested access to the records in relation to an incident that left a teenage girl unconscious and in the hospital after she endured repeated blows to her head from another girl who bashed her skull into concrete numerous times.
Bailey (R-Mo.) reportedly told Fox News Digital that he would open an investigation into the Hazelwood School District and how their diversity, equity, and inclusion (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, emphasizing that this is the focus of the investigation.
The Hazelwood School District then retaliated against Bailey, stating that his investigation was “riddled with errors,” following a few days of non-communication. Bailey only disclosed the email exchange to Fox News.
“It is disappointing to have an attorney general that intentionally disrespects public school district administrators and elected officials by sending error-filled correspondence to intimidate and threaten their leadership. It is surprising that you are opening an investigation based on lies that you could have easily ascertained if you would have taken a few minutes to fact-check prior to sending your correspondence,” Cindy Reeds Ownsby, an attorney for the Hazelwood School District wrote.
Ownsby also claimed that the presence of SROs (school resource officers) in the school building would not have prevented a fight from occurring off school property that day. The fight occurred on a road in a location that is said to be a 5 minute walking distance from the school, witnesses told police.
Additionally, the attorney claimed that the fight did not occur “during the middle of the school day,” but rather after school hours more than a quarter of a mile from school property. Ownsby went on to point out other fights within the area did not receive press coverage like this fight and questioned Bailey’s integrity.
“Is that because you have assumed, without official verification, that the March 8th altercation was between a white student and a black student, while the other incidents were black-on-black student or student/teacher encounters? Do you value white students’ safety more than black students’ safety? Do you honestly believe, again, without any official verification or specific knowledge, that the fight on March 8th was a result of a racial issue between the female students that was caused by the HSD belief in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion for all?” Ownsby stated in the email. “I’m deeply concerned that the school where these teens were students has a history of promoting divisive racial ideology over the safety of its students.”
Ownsby went on to question Bailey further and attack his character.
“What community do you represent as the Missouri Attorney General? Do you represent all the citizens of Missouri? Or only the white citizens? Your lack of care about the accuracy of the allegations you make, combined with your false assumptions about the security provided by the HSD could lead to the belief that you are not the attorney general for ALL Missouri citizens, but rather only for those that look and believe as you do,” Ownsby wrote.
Bailey responded to the email saying that the school district had misunderstood the nature of the investigation after initially pointing out irrelevant details.
“My letter cited several sources for information, including publicly-available reporting and the District’s own policies. The most egregious “error” you identify is an incorrect date reference that was reported in local media. As with any investigation, my office seeks to uncover facts surrounding the incident at issue. An incident you openly acknowledge involved Hazelwood East students,” Bailey responded.
“I’d like to clarify that my letter did not indicate that your “most egregious error” was the incorrect date (and time) of the incident. Your most egregious errors are your unsupported allegations that race was a factor in the incident and that school resource officers would have been on the scene of an incident that occurred after school hours and one-half mile from school property,” Ownsby sent in a response email.
Bailey emphasized that he had highlighted Chapter 610 in particular, which mandates that a public governmental body produce records or send a letter within three days stating the reason why the requested documents are not being disclosed.
In response, Ownsby stated that the district has received the Sunshine Law request and will try its best to provide the records by April 15th.
The purpose of the investigation, according to Bailey, is to ascertain whether the school district disregarded 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.”
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