By admin 
A Black teenager who says his white classmates at Addenbrooke Classical Academy harassed him because of his race — including by scrawling threatening racist graffiti in a school bathroom — is suing the Lakewood charter school and its leaders with allegations they failed to protect him or discipline those bullying him.
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Jaylen Davis, now 18, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver against the school, Principal John Byrne and its former executive director, Ric Netzer, arguing they took no action to prevent or stop the racial harassment and did not investigate the regular incidents of bullying.
Addenbrooke Classical Academy is a charter school authorized by Jeffco Public Schools’ school board and educates kids in preschool through high school on two campuses.
Davis, who was a sophomore at the school during the 2024-25 school year, says the harassment began during the second semester when white students would touch him and his hair without his consent, use racial slurs and reference racial stereotypes.
One white student gave Davis a stress ball in the shape of a monkey, according to the lawsuit. One white student told him he would “return to” a KFC restaurant when he died. And some white students showed him a video of a character wearing a Burger King hat yelling a slur. Those students then wore Burger King hats to class and acted out the video.
A white student also asked Davis whether he “sagged,” slang tied to Black culture.
The lawsuit notes that at the end of January 2025 Davis’ mom notified Byrne, the school principal, that students were touching him and that she feared he “was becoming a target for bullying.”
Davis states in the lawsuit that between January and April both he and his mom complained multiple times to Byrne and Netzer, the executive director, as the harassment escalated. They asked the school leaders to intervene and tell the white students to stop hassling Davis.
The lawsuit alleges neither leader investigated the incidents, interviewed the students involved, disciplined those students or took steps to protect Davis from the discriminatory bullying.
Davis says Netzer told him to “hit, punch or slug” the students harassing him.
“What do you think would have happened if Jaylen would have hit the white students?” Steven Murray, an attorney with Murray Law, LLC in Denver who is representing Davis, told The Colorado Sun.
Murray said that by doing nothing to put the harassment to an end or punish the young perpetrators, the school leaders chose to protect themselves, the school and the white students.
“The only person that was harmed by this entire ordeal was Jaylen,” Murray said. “The school wasn’t. The administrators weren’t. The white kids weren’t.”
The bullying culminated in May 2025, when racist phrases, including threats of sexual violence against Davis and four other male students of color, were written on a wall in the boys’ bathroom. The graffiti also suggested a “slave auction” during lunch period.
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The lawsuit states that school leaders locked the bathroom, except during passing periods, but did not inform Davis or his mom about the graffiti that included his name and threats, although other parents were notified. Davis learned of the graffiti when a classmate showed him a photo of it, prompting him to call his mom who picked him up and took him home.
Byrne later told Davis’ mom that the school painted over the graffiti and gave the boys behind it “some strong words of warning,” according to the lawsuit. However, Byrne also said the school did not know who was responsible for the graffiti, the lawsuit states.
“Those are three of the most vile phrases that you can imagine and the idea that they’re in a charter school in 2026 and that Jaylen has to learn that he is named on the wall, that there’s a rape threat, that there’s a threat of a slave auction and using the N-word and he has to find out about it on his own without the school ever telling him about it is very upsetting,” Murray, his attorney, told The Sun.
School says it is focused on providing “a safe, supportive” environment
Davis attended the school the rest of his sophomore year but did not return for his junior year because of the repeated harassment, according to the lawsuit. Feeling unsafe at school, he instead opted for an online program he could complete from home.
The bullying and the school’s failure to intervene robbed him of critical high school experiences, such as meeting friends, forming relationships with teachers and playing sports, Murray said.
It also left him feeling scared and humiliated and took a toll on his mental health, the lawsuit notes.
“He felt threatened,” Murray told The Sun. “A reasonable person would say, this all happened and there was nothing to do to stop it so why should I go back there?”
Addenbrooke Classical Academy referred questions about the lawsuit to Jeffco Public Schools’ communications department.
An emailed statement sent to The Sun by the district communications team on behalf of Addenbrooke Classical Academy stated that the school is “aware of a press release regarding potential legal action against the school.” The school said it has not been served with the lawsuit, according to the statement.
“Our policy is not to comment on any potential or pending legal matters,” the statement read. “We can affirm that ACA, in partnership with Jeffco Public Schools, adheres strictly to all federal and state anti-discrimination laws and to district policies aligned with those legal standards. The ACA community is guided by upholding the equal dignity and rights of all individuals and educating students with integrity and virtue to become exemplary citizens.”
The statement added that the school “remains focused on maintaining a safe, supportive and virtuous learning environment where every student can thrive.”
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