Two former elementary school administrators in the District are suing D.C. Public Schools, alleging they faced retaliation for protesting the use of a teacher training program they felt discriminated against Black children.

Carolyn Jackson-King, the former principal at Lawrence E. Boone Elementary in Fairlawn, and Marlon Ray, the school’s former director of strategy and logistics, say they experienced retribution for challenging training that directed teachers to use strict measures to control students’ behaviors. The lawsuit was filed in D.C. Superior Court on Feb. 1.

Jackson-King hopes the lawsuit will help improve the culture for administrators in the school system. She said principals and other school leaders are often discouraged from speaking out against problems.

“I’ve always been an organization person,” she said. “But when things are not right, then I think you should be able to have that voice.”

Enrique Gutierrez, a spokesman for D.C. Public Schools, declined to answer questions about the complaint, citing the pending litigation. The school system had not received the lawsuit as of Monday.

“D.C. Public Schools is committed to providing a robust framework for attracting, recruiting and retaining school leaders, including offering deep professional development opportunities for school-based staff that are guided by research-based best practices,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

In the summer of 2019, teachers and administrators at some D.C. campuses were required to attend training led by the Relay Graduate School of Education, which was founded by three of the country’s largest charter school networks to prepare teachers for classrooms.

According to several educators who attended training sessions with Relay, teachers were encouraged to adopt practices that required children to behave in specific ways.

That included having students pick up their pens within three seconds of starting a writing assignment; having students walk silently with their hands behind their backs when they’re in line and having teachers square their shoulders toward students and speak in a “formal register” while explaining directions.

Officials from Relay have previously denied the private graduate school encourages those techniques. A spokesperson for Relay did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on Monday.

Jackson-King said most of the school leaders who were required to attend training with Relay worked at predominantly Black schools in Wards 7 and 8, areas of the city with large numbers of low-income families.

The former principal said she felt the training was militaristic and racist because it mostly targeted the behavior of Black children. Jackson-King said she rejected the use of the practices at Boone, where nearly 95 percent of students are Black, and registered her complaints with multiple school system leaders in 2019.

Jackson-King told school system leaders that the training “was being deliberately implemented to create a school to prison pipeline system for Black and brown children,” according to the lawsuit.

For the 2019-2020 year, Jackson-King received an overall score of 2.75 out of 4 on her annual evaluation from the school system. It was the lowest rating she received since D.C. Public Schools started using the evaluation system called IMPACT more than a decade ago.

An instructional superintendent told Jackson-King the score meant she would not be reappointed as principal for the following year, according to Jackson-King, who believes she received the low score because she was outspoken about the use of training practices encouraged by Relay.

“I was effectively shut out, shutdown,” Jackson-King said.

Her dismissal led to pushback from community members who demanded D.C. Public Schools reinstate her as principal. Two members of the D.C. Council also intervened, urging D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee to reconsider.

Jackson-King was reassigned to the position of dean of students at a D.C. high school for the 2020-2021 academic year. That position was later cut from the school’s budget, she said.

D.C. Public Schools officials say educators at ten schools currently receive professional development from the Relay Graduate School of Education. The school system also said it has invested in training opportunities for educators that focus on equity and have reviewed curriculum to ensure it is culturally responsive.

Ray, the former director of strategy and logistics at Boone who helped coordinate efforts to protest Jackson-King’s removal, also accused D.C. Public Schools of retaliation. Ray also said he filed a complaint with the city’s inspector general over the use of techniques encouraged by Relay in schools.

Ray said he was micromanaged and treated more harshly than other employees after Jackson-King’s departure. For example, he said the school’s new principal reprimanded him for participating in a protest in October that other school workers and students attended.

Ray’s position was eliminated by the school in June 2021, according to the complaint.

He said the school system has created a “systemic culture of silence” that dissuades school employees from challenging authority.

“People that know me know that I go to work and I work hard,” he said. “I just want the best for the kids, the families and for all the staff.”

Jackson-King and Ray have asked D.C. Superior Court to direct D.C. Public Schools to reinstate them to their previous positions. They are also seeking $500,000 each for suffering emotional distress and professional harm.