Student Suspended for ‘KKK’ Message

A junior at Moorpark High School was suspended for five days Tuesday for printing “KKK” on his notebook and taunting another student with it, school officials said.

The youth was disciplined after another student became offended and complained to school administrators, Vice Principal Mike Agnitch said.

Agnitch also contacted authorities at the Sheriff’s Department, who determined that the incident did not constitute a hate crime.

Although Agnitch described the incident as “fairly mild,” he said the student, who is white, was suspended because his actions were tantamount to starting a fight on campus.

“It’s not so much that [‘KKK’] was exactly written there, it was being used in a manner to intimidate,” Agnitch said.

Agnitch said the state education code gives school administrators the power to suspend or recommend expulsion of students who intentionally engage in harassment, threats or intimidation because of race or sex, creating a hostile learning environment.

“We want our students to feel comfortable here,” Agnitch said.

He added that the student’s suspension was the second disciplinary action in four years that was motivated by the taunting of a minority student.

The 1,667-student high school is about 60% white and 30% Latino.