EX-STUDENT SUES, CLAIMS RACIAL BIAS

Ouster From Nursing Class Followed a False Drug Test

The young mother kicked out of a nursing program last year after
supposedly failing a drug test is suing the Ripon Unified School
District and a nursing home for racial discrimination.

Kiana Crayton, who is black, accuses them of not verifying positive
results for cocaine and then using the test as a pretext for
terminating her from the program.

The test was conducted by Bethany Home nursing facility, where
students enrolled in the school district's program performed
practical course work. Crayton said the nursing home told her the
tests were positive for cocaine. Within a few hours of the contested
result, Crayton received a clean test from Memorial Medical Center,
and a nurse practitioner cleared her to go back to class.

But Bethany Home refused to review the note, and the school district
maintained that if Bethany Home wouldn't allow her to work at the
nursing home, she couldn't perform required course work or pass the
class. The district released her Jan. 17, 2007, a week into the course.

"We still have not received any test results from Bethany Home or the
school district," said Modesto attorney Adam Stewart, who represents
Crayton. "And nothing of the test that they retained to have
retested. . They haven't (shown) me the test."

He said Bethany Home, on Ripon's Main Street, is a predominantly
white care home in a predominately white community and that "we have
evidence to suggest some people simply didn't want a young black
woman working there."

The lawsuit states that Crayton had signed a document in which she
had requested that her urine samples be tested by an independent lab
if they produced a positive result, but that there is no evidence
Bethany Home followed through with that test. And it claims the
nursing home violated her privacy by forcing her to choose between
completely disrobing or being observed while submitting to the test.

Bethany Home Executive Director Andrew Lee and Leo Zuber,
superintendent of Ripon Unified School District, said they could not
comment on the allegations because the district has not been served
with the lawsuit.

It was filed Feb. 11 in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Zuber noted, however, that the school district rejected a claim
Crayton submitted in July.

"We have nothing to do with testing," Zuber said. "The arrangement we
had with Bethany Home was: We operated a class that trained certified
nursing assistants, and we used Bethany Home's facility as part of
that class, and depended on Bethany Home to operate."

Class Is No Longer Offered

The nursing home abruptly ended its participation two days after
stories appeared in The Bee questioning Crayton's dismissal Jan. 31,
2007. The school district immediately canceled the remaining month of
the two-month course, citing the fact that students wouldn't be able
to work at the nursing home.

Zuber said the nursing home was the only one that could offer
practical training in Ripon, so the school district no longer offers
the program. He said he didn't recall the nursing home giving a
reason for pulling out.

Lee said there was no connection between the decision and the drug test.

He said accommodating the class was costing more than it had in
previous years and fewer students were taking jobs at the nursing
home after graduation, making it a poor financial investment. Then a
norovirus that hit during the term kept out students, he said.

"We couldn't finish the class because of the norovirus," Lee said.
"And the whole program being close to question anyway because of the
financial (element), it just wasn't working out for us."

When questioned on the reasoning at the time the class ended, Lee
said he was "not at liberty to talk on that."

Crayton said it is best the class ended. She said the program failed
to give everyone equal opportunity.

"It shouldn't have been open if they weren't going to give you a good
chance," Crayton, 23, said. "It wasn't right, and (Bethany Home) knew
they were in the wrong. If they knew they were in the right, they
never would have closed down the program."

Crayton said she and her 3-year-old son moved from her mother's home
in Ripon and now live with her sister in Manteca. She worked for a
time at a hotel but didn't feel comfortable and quit, she said. Her
hope of becoming a nursing assistant ceased with the course.

"When that ended, I just stayed in the house because it was like
telling me I couldn't do what I wanted to do, I couldn't live my
dream, I couldn't help people, and I wasn't good enough," she said.
"So I kind of gave up on the dream of being a CNA."

Crayton said she has been looking for a school where she can try to
work toward becoming a registered nurse.

Her lawsuit seeks back pay, loss of earning capacity, general damages
of more than $25,000, special damages such as mental health expenses,
punitive damages and attorney fees.