ST. LOUIS, Missouri — On Friday, March 8, 16-year-old Kaylee Gain, a student at Hazelwood East High School was severely injured in an altercation that occurred off campus after school was over.
Video showing Gain's injuries went viral on social media and attracted the attention of several national political influencers. Some of them suggested the incident, which involved another Black teenage girl who attended the same school, could have had racial undertones.
On Friday, March 22, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey claimed in a press release that he was launching an investigation into the Hazelwood School District to learn "how the school district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs contributed to the incident."
The question
Did DEI programs "contribute" to a violent attack that severely injured 16-year-old girl Kaylee Gain?
Our sources
The answer
No, DEI programs did not contribute to the violent attack that severely injured 16-year-old Kaylee Gain.
What we found
In the summer of 2020, school administrators at the Hazelwood School District published an open letter condemning the "horrific, depraved murder of George Floyd," and vowed to "address the underlying conditions that create these inequities - unequal access to quality healthcare, disproportionate poverty, and mass incarceration."
At the time, current or former police officers on the force at St. Louis County Police Department, Florissant Police Department, and the Hazelwood Police Department, worked as School Resource Officers at several schools in the district.
The district's open letter said administrators would soon: "Reevaluate our relationship with school resource officers. We want to protect our students and staff from external threats but recognize the presence of armed police officers undermines some students’ and staff members’ sense of safety."
Later that summer, the school board asked police officers to attend a training session to discuss diversity and inclusion. In a letter obtained by 5 On Your Side Public Safety Reporter Christine Byers, police chiefs from all three departments declined to participate in the training sessions. Two of the three chiefs have since moved on and been replaced. The school district and the police department chiefs could not agree to terms on a renewed contract at the time.
In a press release issued last Friday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey pointed to that three-year-old story and attempted to lay the blame for the lapse in uniformed officers inside the school halls solely on the district.
"After unsuccessfully trying to subject its school resource officers (‘SROs’) to the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion programing, Hazelwood removed uniformed police officers from its schools," Bailey wrote.
However, there are several inconsistencies and inaccuracies in that claim: that outdated decision is no longer active; two of the three chiefs who made that joint decision are no longer in place; and the St. Louis County Police Department claims the initial decision to discontinue SROs in the schools was made by the chiefs, not by the district.
"Ultimately, the decision was the chief's decision," Sgt. Tracy Panus told 5 On Your Side.
Bailey's letter, which cited the wrong date and time of the attack, also claimed, "not a single school resource officer was on the scene to protect Ms. Gain or restore order." However, the attack happened off campus after school hours.
While Panus, a former school resource officer herself, says uniformed guards might sometimes collect intelligence in conversations with students, "that's not to say somebody would've gone to the SRO with information to prevent" an attack off school grounds.
That's not the only part of Bailey's letter Panus disputed. Police investigators who compiled evidence and presented it to a juvenile court also saw nothing to corroborate the attorney general's suggestion that the violent attack was somehow linked to racial diversity, equity, or inclusion teachings.
"The entire community deserves answers on how Hazelwood's radical DEI programs resulted in such despicable safety failures that has resulted in a student fighting for her life," Bailey said in his press release.
"We're not seeing any kind of racial motivation in this fight," Panus said.
Bailey's press release also claimed, "The absence of SROs on the scene is directly attributable to Hazelwood’s insistence on prioritizing race-based policies over basic student safety."
However, Bailey appears confused or misinformed on the district's current stance toward school resource officers. Hazelwood's new police chief James Hudanick tells 5 On Your Side that three SRO's from his department have since returned Hazelwood West, which is located within city limits. Hazelwood East is located within the jurisdiction of the St. Louis County Police Department.
Bailey's letter to Hazelwood also claimed, "To date, SROs are still not present in Hazelwood East schools."
That claim also appeared to be undercut by video from inside the school hallways on March 7, the day before the attack in question, where an adult male in a dark uniform and handcuffs appears to engage a security incident.
"HSD does not prioritize DEI initiatives at the expense of student safety," public relations aide Jordyn Elston said in an emailed statement. "Rather, we believe that fostering an inclusive environment is essential to ensuring the well-being of every member of our school community."
"Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our students," she said. "We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Hazelwood School District. These values are not negotiable, and we will continue to prioritize them in all aspects of our work as community leaders."
Bailey's office cited two state laws to support the basis for his investigation: the Sunshine Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act.
While the Sunshine Act requires public bodies to practice transparency, Bailey's use of it undercuts his own credibility with school district administrators.
One year ago, in March 2023 right after he assumed the office, Bailey sought to reassure an anxious school district administrator that he would not use the office in the manner his predecessor did. According to the Warren County Record, a superintendent asked Bailey if he would continue former Attorney General Eric Schmitt's crusade against school districts.
“Keep your documents. I’m good,” Bailey said. “I don’t intend to use the Sunshine Law as an offensive tool.”
Five months later, Politico published a leaked campaign prospectus from Bailey's political challenger, GOP primary candidate Will Scharf. The adviser to former Governor Eric Greitens had been circulating the document to high-dollar donors and attacked Bailey for withdrawing from Schmitt's fights with schools.
"Most notably, Bailey pulled his office out of fights in the education space," the document said. "He has announced that he will not use his office's investigative powers against the education establishment the way that Eric Schmitt has done, and recently declined to appeal a trial court decision holding that the Attorney General has no power to enforce state law against school districts."
Not long after Scharf's accusations went public, Bailey flip-flopped on his promise not to use the Sunshine Law as a political cudgel, and he began sharpening his attacks against large school districts in the suburbs, prodding them for any documents related to diversity in hiring practices.
The second statute Bailey cites, the Missouri Human Rights Act, protects workers from discrimination on the job, protects tenants from discrimination in the housing market, and protects people with disabilities from discrimination in public spaces. The law says anyone bringing a complaint must file it within 180 days of the alleged incident, and that the Attorney General can bring that complaint on their behalf. 5 On Your Side asked if Bailey had filed such a complaint with the Missouri Human Rights Commission. His office did not answer.
Because the school resource officers were under contract, and because their employers at the police departments were the ones who opted not to renew the contract, it remains unclear what grounds Bailey could possibly have to file an official complaint against the school district. Instead, it appears he's searching for evidence to justify his investigation. He launched the probe by asking the district to hand over any demographic information about new hires, and to disclose any complaints it has received about its Racial Equity Policy.
His office did not respond to questions about whether or not he has taken any other official action on the matter, such as filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and his office did not respond to questions asking why he publicly announced an investigation before it was launched.
"I think it's inappropriate. I think he's wrong. And I think that it's also it goes against the fundamental principles of our Constitution," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said.
Bell's office could eventually take over the criminal case from juvenile courts if the suspect is charged as an adult. Bell, an alumnus of Hazelwood East, suggested Bailey's public posturing in the case could impact the trial.
"Whatever the facts are in this case, if someone is ultimately charged, that individual does have a right to a fair trial," Bell said. "So making speculation about facts that we have no idea about to politicize things, to score political points, that's not appropriate for anyone on any side of the aisle. We shouldn't be doing that."
"We cannot politicize the safety and well being of our children, and certainly not to score political points," Bell said.
Bailey also took political heat from Congresswoman Cori Bush, a parent of former Hazelwood students.
She said Bailey's "exploitation of the tragic events near Hazelwood for political gain is reprehensible, irresponsible and dangerous—and further harms a community affected by the devastating incidents this past month.
"Fabricating truths and carelessly neglecting facts not only undermines AG Bailey’s responsibilities to upholding the safety and security of our communities, but subjects everyone - including students, parents, teachers, and staff - to an onslaught of threats," Bush said.
"I stand firm in denouncing such tactics and will work tirelessly with our community to address youth safety issues with integrity and without sacrificing our children's well-being," she said. "And, let’s be honest here, if AG Bailey actually cared about the safety of our students, he wouldn’t be launching continued attacks against trans youth and DEI programs, and promoting the criminalization of Black and brown students in our schools."
We can VERIFY: DEI programs did not contribute to the violent attack that severely injured Kaylee Gain.
VERIFY
Have a question you want us to VERIFY? Email verify@ksdk.com with your claim.
Craving more VERIFY? See every St. Louis-area claim we've looked into here.