A former student at Addenbrooke Classical Academy in Lakewood alleges in a federal lawsuit that school leaders did not adequately respond to months of racist harassment by white classmates or tell him when threatening bathroom graffiti included his name. Jaylen Davis, who is Black, says the experience led him to leave in-person classes and finish his junior year online.
Complaint Describes Months of Harassment Reports
Davis filed suit in U.S. District Court in Denver against Addenbrooke, Principal John Byrne and former executive director Ric Netzer, according to The Colorado Sun. The complaint alleges that in the second semester of his sophomore year, white students touched Davis and his hair without consent, used racial slurs and mocked him with racial stereotypes. It also describes a monkey-shaped stress ball given to him by a student and racist imagery involving KFC and Burger King.
Davis and his mother say they raised concerns with Byrne and Netzer multiple times from January through April 2025. The lawsuit alleges the administrators did not investigate, interview the students involved, discipline anyone or take steps to protect Davis. Netzer allegedly told Davis to “hit, punch or slug” the students targeting him.
Graffiti Disclosure Became a Further Point of Dispute
In May 2025, racist graffiti appeared in a boys’ restroom, according to the lawsuit. It allegedly threatened sexual violence against Davis and four other male students of color and suggested a slave auction during lunch. The school locked the restroom after the graffiti was found. Davis’s complaint alleges that administrators did not tell him or his mother that he was named, although other parents were reportedly notified; Davis says he learned about it from a classmate.
Davis says he did not return to Addenbrooke for his junior year because of the harassment and threats connected to the graffiti, and instead completed the year through online school. The complaint also says Davis and his mother did not own a car or have another practical way to get to a different school, a detail reported by KDVR.
Complaint Brings Three Federal Civil Rights Claims
The complaint brings claims under Title VI, Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, according to the same account. It seeks punitive damages from Byrne and Netzer individually, as well as compensatory damages for Davis’s lost year of in-person education and extracurricular activities and attorney’s fees.
Davis’s attorney, Steven Murray, said Addenbrooke chose to protect white students over Davis despite the harassment and potential threats he faced. Addenbrooke Classical Academy is a charter school authorized by the Jeffco Public Schools board and operates two campuses serving students from preschool through high school.
How the Charter Relationship Works
Addenbrooke says it operates under Jeffco Public School District’s charter and is self-governed by its own board of directors; Jeffco describes charter schools as publicly funded schools operated by groups of parents, teachers and community members, according to Addenbrooke Classical Academy and Jeffco Public Schools. Those descriptions establish the charter and governance arrangement but do not specify how responsibility for investigating individual harassment complaints is divided between the school and its authorizer.
School Says It Has Not Been Formally Served
Addenbrooke said it is aware of a press release regarding potential legal action but has not been formally served with the lawsuit, according to the Colorado Sun’s reporting. The school said it would respond through appropriate legal channels and that it remains focused on maintaining a safe, supportive and virtuous learning environment where every student can thrive.
Colorado’s SB23-296 directs local education providers, including charter schools, to offer accommodations and supportive measures to students experiencing harassment or discrimination and to adopt procedures for investigating reports, according to the Colorado General Assembly. Davis’s complaint alleges that the school did not take those protective steps despite months of complaints before the graffiti incident. The Denver Gazette also reported on the filing.
