A fight over American Indian-themed school mascots could result in a three million dollar budget cut for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, the money would be used to reimburse schools that may be forced to switch mascots.
The Department of Civil Rights wants the federal government to pressure school districts with Native American mascots to change them. It says the mascots harm American Indian students and their performance in school.
State Representative Bob Genetski is sponsoring a bill that would require the Civil Rights Department to help pay for any mascot changes.
“We hope that the department will rescind that complaint and then nobody’s got to worry about any of this,” he says.
The state Department of Civil Rights says it has no plans to withdraw its complaint with the U-S Department of Education.