Black Deaf high school sophomore faces homelessness discrimination
Renca Dunn, Daily Moth Reporter:
Demarico Young, a Black Deaf high school sophomore who is originally from Louisiana but currently is living in Sioux City, Iowa, said he is facing discrimination from South Sioux City High School over not being able to attend the school due to where he is currently living.
(Full-screen photo of Demarcio)
Demarico is known for his athletic skills especially in football. He has been recognized in local news with several articles on his accomplishments in sports. We have linked those articles in this transcript. A few weeks ago, I personally attended one of his football games to watch him play. He is the starting running back for SSCHS and is one of the stars of the team. I will show you a short video clip that I took of him playing.
(video of Demarcio playing football)
The Sioux City metropolitan area straddles three states: Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. On the Nebraska side, the area is South Sioux City and on the Iowa side, it is called Sioux City. The South Dakota area is called North Sioux City. Demarico and his family moved from Louisiana to South Sioux City, Nebraska and have been homeless for 16 months. He was able to attend South Sioux City High School while his family was looking for a place to live. Just now, his family found a place to live, but it is in Sioux City, Iowa. The family said that they were told by others they could live in Sioux City and still attend to SSCHS. But after the immediate change of residency, Demarico said his high school asked him to leave and gave him only a week.
Demarico contacted Donald Dew, a disabilities/civil rights advocate and executive director at the Disabilities Resource Center of Siouxland, to support his case because Demarico wants to stay to complete his school year. Right now, Demarico is still at SSCHS because he is protected by the McKinney Vento Act which says that students who are homeless can stay at a school until the end of the school year even if the student finds permanent housing during that year. However, the school is pushing for Demarico to leave, which Donald Dew is saying is a violation of the act. So, Demarico now is asking for the community’s support.
We reached out to Demarico and Donald for an interview. Just to give you a heads up, in the interview, Demarico’s interpreter, Dawn, is on the same screen as Demarico. You will see switching between the interpreter and Demarcio. Here’s the interview clip.
Renca: How do you feel? Why do you want to fight to stay at South Sioux City High School?
Demarcio Young: Because I already have had a lot of experiences at South Sioux City High School, with sports, good education, new friends, and a support system. People want to learn sign language and can see that Deaf people can do anything. I get to represent Deaf people who are in the Deaf world. I’ve already gotten some attention from colleges, so I want to stay. If I leave, then I would have to start all over again, bear through it and work hard… I don't want that. I want to stay in South Sioux City High School. They know who I am, and they understand. If I stay throughout all of my years and graduate, they will know who I am. I don’t want to leave, because then that would go to waste. I would have to bear through it. After finding a home, that shouldn’t have messed that up.
Renca: It was your first time.
Demarcio: First time, right, that it impacted my life. I feel infuriated. I wasn’t in the mood. I’m sad, and this makes my brother sad. I feel upset. My mom feels nervous.
Renca: What does your family, your mom, and brother think about this situation?
Demarcio: My mom is more… Sad for me. My mom knows I’m a good athlete with good grades, with 3.5 to 4.0 GPAs. I have good grades and have been doing fine. Why is the school kicking me out for no reason? It’s messed up. My brother was very upset, crying, because if we move my brother will have to start all over again with me and work it all out with the rules and everything. My brother wants to stay and play football with me.
Renca: I’m curious, Don, why do you think the school is fighting to get him to leave?
Don Dew, via Linguabee interpreter: There are some theories. For one, the school might want to get his services paid by Sioux City, Iowa, even though he’s staying at South Sioux City, Iowa. The federal government has already paid to cover his services in South Sioux City. If Demarcio moves to another school, that will save the school money connected to his services and that money will stay with them even without the student there. The Student Services Director has already admitted that they’ve done that six times before, so I will speak to the state auditor to check their budget to investigate if this has happened, because that would mean a criminal charge.
Renca: What’s the next step, legalwise?
Don: We will follow what the student wants. Demarcio still wants to stay at SSCHS, with everything he’s already been through, but we will make sure that if he wants to stay, we will make sure the school follows the law and keeps a lawyer involved and file a State complaint, and file a complaint again with the Student Services person also. We sent a demand letter last week. We’ve also done that before at another school district, and school districts tend to not like having that experience, getting a demand letter, but these are the next steps. Again, the student will lead and we’ll follow what the student wants.
Renca: We want to thank Demarico and Donald for their time. Demarico said we can support his situation by sharing his story and to tag South Sioux City High School, the Iowa Department of Education, the Nebraska Department of Education, and a Nebraska State Senator, Joni Albrecht. Demarico also mentioned that you can reach out to him on Facebook to ask him for more information for other ways to support his case.
We reached out to Mr. Todd Strom who is the Superintendent of the South Sioux City Community Schools, for his comment. We have not gotten any reply.
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We reached out to Bregitt Endicott who has a Masters of Social Work specializing in school social work to share her expertise about this situation. She sent us a text in which I will sign what she said.
“Students who live in districts affected by poverty usually attend poorly funded schools, and privileged students get well-funded ones. Well-off, well educated students go on to colleges, have children and move into well-resourced school districts, starting the cycle over again. Instead of bringing them together, public schools and the district lines that classify kids into them increasingly speed up the process of pushing them apart. Black, Indigenous, and other non-Black students of color attend schools that are statistically more likely to be under-resourced, outdated, and in many cases hazardous to their health such as broken air conditioning units, mold growth in buildings, and other hazards. Many public districts and schools still remain segregated by race and socioeconomic status today. It is important for us to put/change into an improved form to ensure that students are not locked out of opportunities based on where they live.”
So, that’s the situation that Demarico is in. We will provide an update when there are new developments in the Sioux City area.
Local news about Demarcio:
https://siouxlandnews.com/news/above-and-beyond/above-and-beyond-demarcio-young