A former Davis School District employee hired to help investigate racial harassment complaints within the district filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, alleging that the district subjected her to racial discrimination, including when officials last year refused to renew her contract.
Joscelin Thomas, a Black woman, was first hired by the district in 2022. Her position was part of a requirement under the district’s 2021 settlement with the Department of Justice — a step toward addressing systemic failures identified during a federal investigation into the district’s mistreatment of students of color.
“From the beginning of her employment, Dr. Thomas was treated differently than her lighter-skinned and non-Black co-workers,” the complaint states, “and was subject to a hostile work environment.”
Thomas, who obtained a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Keiser University in Florida, was initially hired as a “school coordinator” within the district’s newly created Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), following the DOJ investigation and settlement.
In that role, Thomas was tasked with investigating and responding to complaints of racial harassment and discrimination submitted to the district’s OEO, the complaint states.
But before she started, she was promoted to a “district coordinator” position, in which she was tasked with supervising a team of school coordinators, the complaint states.
During her employment, Thomas was denied training and mentorship opportunities that were offered to her colleagues, treated “as if she were stupid” and was accused of not having the same work ethic as peers, the complaint alleges.
The complaint lists the school district as well as two district employees, Fidel Montero and Suzi Jensen, along with a third-party consultant, Heidi Alder, as defendants.