Accord Reached in Racially Torn School District

A settlement has been reached to resolve discrimination complaints at an Alabama school district where a principal threatened to cancel a prom if an interracial couple attended, the Justice Department said Monday.

The agreement was reached by the Randolph County school district, a group of county residents and the Justice Department.

The school district agreed to create a non-discriminatory discipline policy and to set up a committee to enforce unbiased personnel rules. The district also agreed to ensure that minorities are not steered into less challenging programs or deterred from certain extracurricular activities.

The government’s intervention followed reports that high school Principal Hulond Humphries made racial remarks and told a students he would call off the prom if an interracial couple planned to attend. The school burned down in a suspicious fire in August.

The settlement does not address the fate of Humphries, who was temporarily reassigned. Hearings on his future are to begin Jan. 10.