"A bill passed in the Wisconsin State Assembly this week would allow community members the right to file complaints against school districts that promote discrimination or stereotyping through racially-based school names or mascots.

Upon filing a complaint with the state superintendent, the school district in question would have to defend why they believe their name or mascot wasn’t racially discriminatory or detrimental to the learning environment. The state superintendent would then have 45 additional days to make a decision, upon which a fine of up to $1,000 a day could be imposed for every day the school district failed to remedy the matter.

The state superintendent may allow the school district up to two years to transition from their old name or mascot to a more appropriate name that wasn’t offensive to the community in question.

Currently, more than 30 school districts in Wisconsin have a mascot or school name that relates to a particular race, all of them depicting Native Americans in sometimes positive--and sometimes negative--ways."

Get the Story:
Chris Walker Mascot name changes will create positive learning environments (Dane101 2/26)

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