First & Fourteenth joined with America First Legal to file a federal lawsuit against Cherry Creek School District raising First Amendment and equal protection challenges to the district’s suspension and threatened expulsion of L.Y., an Asian minor student.
At issue is whether the District may punish a student for recording an off-campus video capturing classmates using a racial slur and later sharing that video privately with one classmate. According to the complaint, L.Y. did not use the slur herself or post the video publicly, yet the District suspended her for approximately two months and initiated expulsion proceedings while declining to discipline her Black classmate, who later shared the video with others, or the classmate’s sister, who posted it publicly.
The case also challenges how the District treats “greater disciplinary action,” including suspensions and expulsions, as an example of racial disproportionality, alleging that its discipline goals can lead to decisions driven by race rather than conduct.
First & Fourteenth attorneys Michael Francisco and Erin Gust represent L.Y. alongside counsel from America First Legal.
Read Complaint Here: L.Y. v. Cherry Creek School District