# Eastern Carver County Schools *Public school district in eastern Carver County, Minnesota; defendant in a 2019 federal civil-rights suit resolved by a 2022 consent decree.* Eastern Carver County Schools, legally Independent School District 112, is a public school district in eastern Carver County, [[Minnesota]].[^1] On September 3, 2019, families from [[Chaska]] sued the district in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in *T.B., et al. v. Independent School District 112 a/k/a Eastern Carver County Schools*, No. 0:19-cv-02414. They brought claims under [[Title VI]], the [[Minnesota Human Rights Act]] and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.[^1][^2] The project's research dossier records that the case ended in a [[consent decree]] in March 2022.[^1] The district's fiscal record over the same years runs through two referendum cycles. Its [[$121.7 million referendum]] failed in fall 2019, the same season the suit was filed. That was the first of its referenda to face organized "Vote No" groups. Earlier referenda in 2013 and 2015 had passed "by wide margins."[^3] In February 2025 the district cut $5 million. Nine months later, voters approved a $742-per-pupil levy increase with 62% of the vote.[^4] The [[United States Department of Justice]] has since filed civil-rights suits against the State of Minnesota itself. Those actions concern state hiring law and voter rolls, not this district. They are summarized below as context for the federal civil-rights framework under which the district was sued.[^5][^6] ## Who - **Defendant.** The suit names the district as Independent School District 112, also known as Eastern Carver County Schools.[^1] - **Plaintiffs.** According to the project's at-issue matrix, the plaintiffs were six African-American students. The race of the plaintiffs is stated in the complaint as summarized there.[^7] - **Counsel.** The plaintiffs' counsel, Nichols Kaster, PLLP and Madia Law LLC, announced the filing.[^1] ## What - **Allegations.** The complaint alleges racial slurs, physical assaults, racial profiling and death threats directed at the plaintiffs. It also alleges deliberate indifference by the district.[^7][^2] News coverage at filing reported the allegation that the district ignored racist incidents and bullying.[^8][^2] - **Withdrawals.** The at-issue matrix states that several plaintiffs had already withdrawn from the district over safety concerns before the suit was filed.[^7] - **Disposition.** The dossier records a consent decree, entered March 2022, with court-ordered obligations. The record here does not carry the decree's text or terms.[^1] - **2025 budget reductions.** As the at-issue matrix states them, the cuts adopted in 2025 were:[^4] - class sizes raised by one student in grades 3–12; - middle-school band and orchestra lessons eliminated; - a 10% cut to building and department supply budgets; - one instructional day removed from the calendar. ## When - **September 3, 2019.** *T.B. v. Independent School District 112* was filed.[^1][^2] - **Fall 2019.** The $121.7 million referendum failed. According to the [[Star Tribune]], the district's equity efforts became part of that levy campaign.[^3] - **March 2022.** The consent decree was entered, according to the project's dossier.[^1] - **February 2025.** The district cut $5 million and projected $4 million more in cuts in each of the next two years.[^4] - **Nine months later.** Voters approved the $742-per-pupil levy increase.[^4] ## Where - **Venue.** The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.[^1] - **Related record.** A separate Minnesota Department of Education organization record, #13185, lists a "Carver County Schools Network" in Watertown, opened in 2025–2026. The project's dossier records that entry's type as unresolved and the record as not retrievable. The record does not establish what relationship, if any, it has to Independent School District 112.[^9] ## Why - **Legal basis.** The complaint rests on three statutory grounds: Title VI, the Minnesota Human Rights Act and § 1983.[^1] - **Damages precedent.** The project's claim rows cite *Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools*, 503 U.S. 60 (1992), for the availability of compensatory damages for intentional violations under [[Title IX]]. The rows apply the same rule by parallel to Title VI.[^10] - **Limits of the record.** The record does not establish the district's reasons for the conduct alleged or for its response. ## How - **Resolution.** The plaintiffs proceeded in federal court, and the matter was resolved by consent decree rather than trial verdict.[^1] - **Related precedent.** The project's Fourteenth Amendment claim rows also cite *Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1*, 551 U.S. 701 (2007). The rows record that decision as holding race-based student assignment unconstitutional.[^11] ## How much - **2025 reductions.** The district cut $5 million, with $4 million more projected for each of the following two years.[^4] - **Levy increase.** The levy approved after the cuts adds $742 per pupil.[^4] - **Failed 2019 referendum.** The 2019 referendum that failed sought $121.7 million.[^3] ## How many - **Plaintiffs.** There were six student plaintiffs, as summarized in the at-issue matrix.[^7] - **Levy vote.** The levy increase passed with 62% of the vote.[^4] ## In the at-issue record - **Civil-rights suit and consent decree (AI-Carver-075).** The project's matrix sets the 2019 suit and the March 2022 consent decree beside a January 2025 presidential action. That action addresses ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.[^7] - **Budget cuts and levy (AI-Carver-081).** The matrix sets the February 2025 cuts and the later $742-per-pupil levy beside a March 2025 presidential action. That action addresses protecting the government's accounts against fraud, waste and abuse. The matrix's figures for this entry are drawn from district records that are not reproduced in the pack.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### What **Hiring-law suit.** On January 14, 2026, the United States filed [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] in the District of Minnesota under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^6] - The complaint cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times.[^6] - Among those citations is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^6] - The Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs announced the suit in release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*.[^5] - Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^5] - The record here shows the filing; it does not show a disposition. **Supreme Court precedent.** In [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303 (2025), the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs." The Court rejected a heightened "background circumstances" requirement for majority-group plaintiffs.[^12] **Voter-rolls suit.** On September 25, 2025, the United States filed a complaint against Secretary of State [[Steve Simon]], No. 0:25-cv-03761, under § 303 of the Help America Vote Act concerning the state's voter rolls. The complaint states allegations; the record here does not show a disposition.[^13] ## Notes [^1]: Nichols Kaster, PLLP and Madia Law LLC, via PR Newswire, *press release announcing the Chaska families' federal civil-rights lawsuit against Eastern Carver County School District* (2019) — announces the filing of *T.B., et al. v. Independent School District 112*, No. 0:19-cv-02414 (D. Minn., filed Sept. 3, 2019), under Title VI, the Minnesota Human Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. § 1983; the project's validated dossier (row CC1; *Carver County History* n. 83) cites this release for the caption, docket, filing date and the March 2022 consent decree. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chaska-families-represented-by-nichols-kaster-pllp-and-madia-law-llc-file-federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-eastern-carver-county-school-district-for-rampant-race-discrimination-300910956.html [^2]: Star Tribune, *Lawsuit: suburban Minnesota school district turned blind eye to racist bullying* (2019) — news coverage of the September 2019 filing. https://www.startribune.com/lawsuit-suburban-minnesota-school-district-turned-blind-eye-to-racist-bullying/559289722 [^3]: Star Tribune, *Eastern Carver County Schools equity efforts become part of levy battle* (2019) — establishes that the $121.7 million referendum failed in fall 2019, that the 2013 and 2015 referenda passed "by wide margins," and that 2019 was the first to face organized "Vote No" groups. https://www.startribune.com/eastern-carver-county-schools-equity-efforts-become-part-of-levy-battle/563919932 [^4]: The White House, *presidential action on protecting America's bank account against fraud, waste, and abuse* (March 2025) — the anchor document paired with at-issue entry AI-Carver-081 in the project's *AT Issue Carver Claims Exposure Matrix* (2026-09-02); that entry, citing district112.org records not in the pack, gives the $5 million February 2025 cut, the $4 million annual projections, the adopted cuts, and the $742-per-pupil levy approved with 62%. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — establishes the release title and the Attorney General's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — establishes the Title VII claim and the complaint's eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^7]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025) — the anchor document paired with at-issue entry AI-Carver-075 in the project's *AT Issue Carver Claims Exposure Matrix* (2026-09-02); that entry, drawing on court and news sources, summarizes the six student plaintiffs, the claims alleged, the prior withdrawals and the March 2022 consent decree. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/ [^8]: KARE 11, *Federal lawsuit claims Eastern Carver County Schools ignored blatant incidents of racism* (2019) — news coverage of the complaint's allegations. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/federal-lawsuit-claims-eastern-carver-county-schools-ignored-blatant-incidents-of-racism/89-1281ac9e-95df-4c35-a326-0f5f3044d70b [^9]: Minnesota Department of Education, *MDE organization record #13185, "Carver County Schools Network"* (2025–2026) — records an entity in Watertown opened 2025–2026; the project's dossier (row CE15) records its type as unresolved and the record as not retrievable. https://pub.education.mn.gov/MdeOrgView/organization/show/13185 [^10]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools*, 503 U.S. 60 (1992) — compensatory damages available for intentional Title IX violations (applied by parallel to Title VI in the project's claim rows). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/503/60/ [^11]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1*, 551 U.S. 701 (2007) — recorded in the project's claim rows as holding race-based student assignment unconstitutional. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/551/701/ [^12]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — holding quoted in text; rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. Steve Simon*, No. 0:25-cv-03761 (D. Minn. filed Sept. 25, 2025) — establishes the HAVA § 303 voter-roll claim, docket and filing date. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1415121/dl