UPDATED: Friday, February 1, 2013 --- 9:35 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Parents of students in a southeastern Wisconsin school district have asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether the state schools superintendent can legally order schools to drop American Indian mascots.
James R. Schoolcraft and Craig Vertz sued after the state Department of Public Instruction ordered the Mukwonago Area School District to drop its Indians nickname and logo. A circuit court judge blocked the DPI's order but the 2nd District Court of Appeals upheld it last month, ruling Schoolcraft and Vertz had no legal standing to sue.
The men's attorney, Samuel Hall, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to take the case. He argues state statutes that allow DPI to order schools to drop tribal nicknames are unconstitutional.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
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UPDATED Wednesday, January 9, 2013 --- 4:41 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Mukwonago Area School District won't get ride of their Indians nickname despite a court ruling supporting the state's order to drop it.
An area resident filed a complaint alleging the nickname was offensive in 2010. The state Department of Public Instruction ordered the district to drop it.
District parents challenged the order but the 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled last week they have no standing.
Superintendent Paul Strobel says the district has asked Republican lawmakers to strip DPI of its power to order schools drop nicknames. He also notes the parents plan to ask the state Supreme Court to take their case.
Rep. Steve Nass, a Whitewater Republican, is pondering bills that would repeal DPI's authority or force a complainant to prove a nickname discriminates against a student.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
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UPDATED Thursday, January 3, 2013 --- 11:34 a.m.
Posted Thursday, January 3, 2013 --- 11:12 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin appeals court has ruled parents suing to save the Mukwonago Area School District's Indians nickname have no grounds to file a challenge.
The state Department of Public Instruction decided in 2010 the nickname discriminated against American Indians. Parents of current and former students filed a lawsuit challenging the decision. A Waukesha County judge found in the parents' favor, concluding the DPI employee who made the finding had a high risk of bias.
DPI argued the parents lacked standing. The 2nd District Court of Appeals agreed, ruling Thursday the parents didn't enter the fight until after DPI made its decision and didn't properly petition the judge for review.
The parents' attorney, Samuel Hall, says he plans to ask the state Supreme Court to take the case.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
