Antoine v. Winner School District
What's at Stake
Filed in 2006, the ACLU's Antoine v. Winner School District class action lawsuit alleged discrimination against Native American students in the mostly-white Winner, South Dakota school district. The lawsuit was settled in December of 2007, and the ACLU works directly with the community and the defendant school district to implement the resulting Consent Decree.
Summary
Representatives from the Winner/Ideal Native American community with their legal team on the steps of the federal court house in Sioux Falls on the night the settlement was reached.
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> Profiles of Kids at Risk - Winner, S.D.
In March of 2006, the ACLU's Racial Justice Program, ACLU of the Dakotas and Attorney General of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a complaint in federal district court on behalf of Native American families with children in South Dakota's majority-white Winner School District. The class action lawsuit claimed that the schools discriminated against Native American students in disciplining them, were hostile toward Native American families, and took statements from students involved in disciplinary matters that were later used to prosecute them in juvenile and criminal courts.
The Winner/Ideal Native American community and the Winner School District announced on June 18, 2007 that an agreement has been reached to settle the lawsuit. Under the negotiated Consent Decree, which was approved by a federal court in December of 2007, the district was required to enact policies and practices to ensure that the rights of Native American students are not violated and to enrich the educational experience of all students. The settlement was a major victory for the Winner/Ideal Native American community, and for the community at large.
Over the course of 2013, members of the Winner/Ideal Native American community, the ACLU, and the defendant Winner School District negotiated a new settlement agreement and proposed an Amended Consent Decree to recognize the important improvements that had been made as a result of the original Consent Decree, and to update the goals of the settlement. The ACLU continues to work with school officials, educational experts and the Native American community to achieve these goals.
Read more about the details of the settlement »
Media Coverage
» "Graduating to Prisons: Native Americans Sue School District," The Progressive
Legal Documents
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12/10/2007
Consent Decree in Antoine v. Winner School District
Date Filed: 12/10/2007
Affiliate: South Dakota
Download Document-
06/22/2005
Antoine v. Winner School District - Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Complaint
Date Filed: 06/22/2005
Affiliate: South Dakota
Download Document-
03/28/2006
Antoine v. Winner School District - Complaint
Date Filed: 03/28/2006
Affiliate: South Dakota
Download Document-
02/10/2014
Antoine v. Winner School District - Combined Notice and Amended Consent Decree
Date Filed: 02/10/2014
Affiliate: South Dakota
Download DocumentPress Releases
Settlement Approved in Case Alleging School Discrimination
Native American Families and Winner School District Announce Settlement in Case Alleging Discrimination
ACLU Fights to End Discriminatory Prosecution of Native American Students