Kyla Hill urges Clackamas County to restore a dedicated DEI office after alleging school discrimination

Kyla Hill told the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners on July 9 that the county should reinstate a dedicated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) department that the board eliminated in 2024.

"My name is Kyla Hill. I live in Milwaukee," Hill said during the public comment period. She described her two sons as Black and disabled and said the North Clackamas School District removed her youngest son from district placement between 2016 and 2019 and placed him in a segregated out‑of‑district behavioral program. Hill said he was repeatedly subjected to physical restraints and alleged the district violated policy and federal privacy rules when it refused access to bus video footage after an incident.

Hill recounted that the experience led to her son being placed in a foster home and said independent neuropsychological testing showed his IQ fell from 90 to 68 during that period. She said racial harassment by other students went unaddressed and that the school district’s response drew her child into the juvenile justice system through a diversion program. Hill urged the county to "begin addressing" ongoing discrimination by restoring a DEI office to help prevent systemic inequities.

Hill’s remarks were part of the meeting’s public communication section. The board closed the public comment period after Hill spoke and recessed to convene as the Housing Authority of Clackamas County. No formal board action on Hill’s request was recorded at the meeting.

The board took no immediate public action in response to the comment during the session and proceeded to other agenda items, including housing authority business and an ordinance first reading.