KAYSVILLE — A principal and teacher in Davis County have been placed on paid administrative leave after a Facebook post showed a student apparently dressed as Adolf Hitler at school, the district said Friday.
The mother of a Creekside Elementary School student first posted a photo of the costumed child in a Facebook group for moms in Weber and Davis County, where it quickly attracted attention.
The photo was accompanied by a caption claiming the student had been “Hailing Hitler,” making Nazi salute gestures “in the face of the few minority children who attend the school” during an in-school Halloween celebration.
The woman went on to describe the costume as “ridiculous and distasteful as one could get.”
The Davis School District apologized for the incident on Friday, and said a teacher and principal have been placed on paid administrative leave while the situation is investigated, according to district policy.
“The Davis School District apologizes for what took place yesterday. It does not tolerate speech, images or conduct that portray or promote hate in any form,” the district said in a statement. “The district is taking the matter very seriously and is investigating every aspect of the situation.”
The school district’s statement did not confirm the name of the school or specify why the teacher and principal were placed on leave.
The Facebook post was also shared with Utah members of Black Lives Matter. Lex Scott, who leads the organization’s Utah chapter, said the costume left her immediately angry, prompting a message to Davis School District Superintendent Reid Newey.
“It just flew me into a rage because I get so many complaints about Davis School District,” said Scott, who said her email to Newey promised to respond in the future with civil rights complaints and lawsuits.
Scott said she quickly received a call from Newey after sending her email, in which she said the superintendent told her the situation is being investigated and discussed racial bias training in the school district.
In her conversation with Newey, Scott said she urged that around Halloween, memos should be sent to schools detailing racially insensitive costumes and explaining in advance how schools should respond if a student comes to class wearing a problematic costume.
An image of an email, which appears to have been sent by Newey, was shared Friday in a Black Lives Matter Facebook group. In the email, the sender says others at the school were “extremely concerned” about the costume and acted immediately, and that as soon as the school’s principal became aware, the student removed the costume and the principal contacted the child’s parents.
In a statement Friday evening, the United Jewish Federation of Utah called the child’s costume “intolerably offensive.”
“Almost all Jews and Americans regard Hitler and Nazi symbols as signifiers of the worst hatred, racism, and crimes against humanity that the world has known. Dressing a child as Hitler is intolerably offensive and should never be suggested, permitted, or condoned,” the statement read.
The federation also asked that school leadership and teachers give guidance to parents about potentially inappropriate costumes, and thanked the Davis School District for its swift response to the costume.
Scott said she has received multiple complaints in the past about racial insensitivity and problems in the Davis School District, and she intends to take any future issues directly to the superintendent.
In July, the school district settled a lawsuit with a family who claimed their biracial middle school student was racially targeted and bullied by an adult bus driver, who at one point closed the bus door on the child’s backpack as he attempted to exit, trapping his backpack inside the bus with his body dangling outside as the vehicle began to move.