Legal watchdog requests federal investigation into Springfield schools for racial discrimination

The foundation claimed that the underlying issue of racial discrimination in Missouri's Springfield Public Schools (SPS) has not been resolved and that the discrimination has been rebranded as “access and opportunity."

By Misty Severi

Published: November 18, 2025 7:32pm

Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) on Tuesday asked the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (CRD) to investigate allegations of racial discrimination in Missouri public schools.

The foundation claimed that the underlying issue of racial discrimination in Missouri's Springfield Public Schools (SPS) was not resolved as expected and that the discrimination has been rebranded as “access and opportunity."

SLF previously represented two SPS teachers in 2021, who claimed they were forced to undergo "equity training" that includes discussing their place on an "oppression matrix" and advocating for "changes in political, economic, and social life."

The training, which took place in 2020 in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests, also claimed that they had to be actively anti-racist while on duty because the training said "white silence" is white supremacy.

“It is highly disappointing that we are continuing to see school districts in this country that are actively trying to imbue racial division within its staff, with the goal of then having it trickle down to its students," SLF President Kim Hermann said in a statement.

"Not only is this wrong, but it is outwardly anti-American, going against the hard work done in the past to achieve a colorblind society where everyone is seen as equal," she continued. "The sort of teaching that SPS continues to push breeds nothing but a regressive attitude towards race that is best left in the past.

"Further investigation into the actions of what is the largest school district in the entire state of Missouri is essential because if left unchecked, racial division will be allowed to flourish within the schools of Missouri," she added.

The OCR and ORD have not commented on whether they will open the investigation so far.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.