David Douglas shares action plan after racial incidents at football games; OSAA cooperation, training and parent engagement prioritized

District leaders told the David Douglas School Board on Jan. 23 that they are pursuing a multi-part plan to address racist language and other harm reported at recent football events, coordinating with the Oregon School Activities Association and working to expand training, reporting and family engagement.

Assistant Superintendent Nancy (identified in meeting as Nancy) opened the agenda item by framing the work as student-safety centered. "Student safety and what we do is really the root of our sports environment," she said, and asked the board to prioritize repair and prevention.

District staff described a timeline of outreach and follow-up: two community forums (the first on Oct. 16), team-review meetings with coaches and school leadership, a follow-up community form, direct meetings with state officials and an ongoing draft action plan built around seven themes: communication/transparency; training and support; accountability; centering student voice; mental health and well-being; policy updates; and community engagement.

What the plan would do - Reporting and accountability: OSAA has added a reporting column in officials' end-of-game reports to indicate whether racial harm or discriminatory conduct occurred, staff said. District officials said OSAA has committed to more active enforcement of its protocols when incidents are reported. - Training and prevention: District staff and OSAA staff are finalizing new training modules for officials and site-level staff. The district said it will require clearer pre-season communications for all sports and plans season-opening family nights for fall, winter and spring sports to set expectations and provide resources. - Student-centered repair: At least one school is planning restorative "healing circle" work using Black Student Union (BSU) student leaders and third-party facilitators; staff said they hope to convene BSU students from affected schools to lead a healing circle. - Game-day supervision: District athletic leaders said they are emphasizing event staffing and escorts for student athletes at vulnerable times (to/from locker rooms and buses) and encouraged coaches to exercise authority to pause or end games when student safety is at risk.

OSAA and district cooperation Officials said they have met with OSAA representatives and that OSAA has begun changing its forms and training to improve how officials and schools respond when discriminatory conduct is alleged. District staff described conversations with OSAA officials, with coaches and with a facilitator retained to work directly with affected students.

Community questions and board discussion Board members and staff discussed scheduling and travel to away games, concerns about officials' diversity, and the limits of control when games are hosted off campus. A board member asked whether parents could be given more input on away-game scheduling; staff said they will include families in pre-season engagement and make clearer pre-game communications available. Several board members emphasized that coaches and site principals already have the authority to stop games and to remove teams if student safety is compromised; staff said they will reiterate that authority in coach meetings.

Ending: District staff said they will finalize the action plan after continued meetings with OSAA and school leaders, prioritize training and family engagement, and return to the board with implementation details.