Corey Wise, former Douglas County School District superintendent fired amid a controversial school board saga earlier this year, filed a state and federal discrimination complaint against the school district and four of its board members alleging Wise was unlawfully fired because he advocated for students with disabilities and students of color.
Attorneys for Wise filed the complaints with the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Wednesday night.
“This needs to be thought of as a civil rights issue, and I don’t think there’s been enough attention to what is really the implications when we deprive students and staff of some of the voices that advocate for them,” said Iris Halpern, one of the attorney representing Wise.
Neither the school district nor the members named in the filing immediately responded to a request for comment.
The complaint is against the district and four recently-elected members of the school board’s conservative majority: Becky Myers, Mike Peterson, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar.
The Douglas County School Board — a seven-member board with four recently-elected conservative members who form a board majority — fired Wise because he supported students and staff wearing masks in schools to protect themselves and their families against COVID-19 and because of his role in developing and implementing the district’s equity policy, according to the filing.
“Unfortunately, when you stand up for what is right, that was held against me,” Wise said in an interview with The Denver Post on Thursday morning. “When you have sides and fractures and distrust…that’s where you see the impact on the school district, employees, community. It’s disappointing. It’s disheartening.”
The filing alleges that because Wise advocated for students and staff in protected classes under civil rights laws — students and staff with disabilities and students of color — and was fired as a result of that advocacy, his firing is retaliatory and a violation of civil rights laws.
Wise was “intimately involved” with the implementation of an equity policy within the district which stated DCSD would “establish an inclusive culture to ensure all students, staff and community members feel safe and valued” and “offer and afford every student and staff member equitable educational opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, religion, national origin, marital status, disability, socio-economic status, or eligibility for special education services.”
The filing pointed out when members of the board majority campaigned against the equity policy and complained about Wise’s support of the policy. Peterson, for example, said during school board campaigning that the district was pushing critical race theory — which is not taught in Douglas County Schools –and the board’s “radical agenda…based on division, equal (low) outcomes, and race-based policies that are discriminatory and will only set our kids up for failure.”
When the board majority was elected, they voted to create a new equity resolution that removed the previous initiatives to ensure representation, accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion within all district-approved curriculum, the filing said.
“It’s coming to a fever pitch where the rhetoric of equality and non-discrimination is being co-opted by a racist, ableist and homophobic agenda to disempower the voices and the experiences of individuals that have been historically marginalized,” Halpern said. “It’s a very dangerous move, and I think it’s important to understand with that move, we are seeing a new hearkening toward Jim Crow.”
The new equity resolution — which is now official policy — removed all mention of diversity, the filing said.
“There are statements about the board wanting to work together, but I think the actions have demonstrated something very different,” Wise said. “It’s agenda-driven. I don’t think it’s putting students first. It’s about adults and maybe larger groups and agendas versus what’s best for an entire school district.”
The charge of discrimination surrounding Wise’s advocacy for students with disabilities centers around Wise’s support of COVID-19 masking policies in schools.
Last fall, Wise along with the parents of nine children with disabilities sued the Douglas County Health Department after the agency decided students and staff did not have to wear face masks.
“The public health order conflicted with other public health orders and was created without any communication with DCSD or the input of any medical experts,” the filing read.
The filing said the public health order discriminated against students with disabilities because it prevented DCSD from granting reasonable accommodations necessary to provide students with meaningful access to the district’s programs and services in violation of the Americans with Disability Act.
“The No. 1 thing you have to do is make sure you’re looking out for each other and you have to look at your medically fragile — that’s with adults and kids,” Wise said. “When we are not able to follow through with the DougCo Board of Health and not able to protect those that need to be protected, you have to stand up for that.”
A federal judge ruled in October that the mask exemption violated the rights of students with disabilities. But by early December, there was a new school board and they voted to end the mask mandate.
During their campaigns, the board majority named in the filing “expressed hostility” toward universal masking and the lawsuit Wise and the students were a part of, the filing said.
Winegar said her top priority in running for office was to “kill the current lawsuit” later adding that leadership in Douglas County is “doubling down” on mask mandates and “creating a toxic environment,” the filing said.
The lawsuit alleges that statements made by the named board majority demonstrate the retaliatory and discriminatory nature of Wise’s termination.
A week after the vote on the equity policy, the school board fired Wise without cause. His termination sparked protests among teachers and students and a lawsuit alleging school board members violated open-meeting laws.
The board’s majority members have said they fired Wise because they did not feel supported by him. They also expressed concerns about him implementing policies set by the previous board, such as the mask mandate.
“I don’t think he does a good job representing the board to staff,” said Christy Williams, vice-president of the school board, in a February meeting. “I’ve heard from leadership there are times he misrepresents our intentions, and I don’t feel that’s the kind of superintendent that we need.”
Wise was terminated two years before his contract was set to expire in 2024. Previously, he served as the district’s interim superintendent for six months and has worked in the district for more than 20 years, including as a teacher and principal.
Wise was replaced by Erin Kane, the former executive director of schools for American Academy.
Wise, who is currently serving as interim community superintendent at Jeffco Public Schools, was hired to serve as theserve as the Interim Assistant Superintendent of Educational Operations at Cherry Creek School District for the 2022-2023 school year, Wise announced this week.
Wise said under the right cirumstances, he would love to return to Douglas County School District someday but said he is ready to give his full attention and passion to his tasks at hand.
“What happened in Douglas County is symptomatic of a phenomenon happening around the country which is powerful, well-funded right wing groups funding the right wing takeover of school districts in order to implement an ideological platform at the expense of vulnerable students,” said Jordan Factor, one of Wise’s attorneys. “Corey filed this lawsuit to ensure that it’s clear that if people are going to take political advantage of vulnerable students and school districts, there’s going to be a price to pay.”
