Lansing’s Own Records Raise Serious Questions in the Sakir Everett Expulsion
- Freedmen Nation
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
The American Freedmen Legal Fund and the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust have completed a comprehensive report regarding Lansing School District’s handling of the Sakir Everett disciplinary matter.
The report is based on Lansing School District’s own FOIA responses, Board records, disciplinary templates, internal consultation records, Student and Family Handbook, and final incident-record denial.
Readers can review the full FRFT/AFLF report here:
What We Found
After multiple FOIA requests, extensions, denials, partial disclosures, and redactions, the record now shows that Lansing School District had formal disciplinary procedures in place.
The documents produced through FOIA confirm the existence of:
disciplinary process templates,
suspension and expulsion procedures,
consultation team processes,
hearing structures,
appeal procedures,
reinstatement standards,
internal administrative coordination,
and Board review.
This matters because the public discussion can no longer be reduced to a vague claim that “school rules were followed.” The real question is whether the District applied those rules fairly, proportionately, and consistently.
The Board’s Own Finding Changed Everything
One of the most important findings came from the Lansing School District Board records.
The Board found that Sakir Everett did not possess the firearm for use as a weapon or for direct or indirect delivery to another person for use as a weapon.
Despite that finding, permanent expulsion was still imposed.
That is the central issue.
This report does not ask Lansing School District to ignore school safety. School safety matters. Student safety matters. Staff safety matters.
But process matters too.
If the Board found that the firearm was not possessed for use as a weapon, then Lansing must explain why permanent expulsion remained the proper and proportionate outcome.
From “No Records” to Confirmed Process
Earlier in the FOIA process, Lansing denied several requests by stating that no records existed for specific policy drafts, internal guidance, or disarmament-related procedures.
But after AFLF submitted more targeted FOIA requests, the District produced records showing that formal disciplinary structures did exist.
This shifted the issue.
The question is no longer whether Lansing had a process.
The question is whether that process protected the student’s rights, properly considered intent, and produced a fair result.
What Lansing Still Withheld
Lansing continued to withhold key records, including incident reports, safety reports, administrative incident logs, and communications or reports involving law enforcement or school resource officers.
The District relied on FERPA and school safety exemptions.
We recognize that student privacy and school security must be protected. However, privacy protections should not prevent the public from understanding whether the District followed a fair, documented, and proportionate process.
Public accountability does not require exposing private student information.
It requires transparency about institutional decision-making.
Why This Report Matters
The completed FRFT/AFLF report identifies serious concerns involving:
due process,
proportionality,
educational access,
consistency,
institutional discretion,
documentation,
and public accountability.
The report also recommends corrective action, including review of the permanent expulsion, restoration of the student’s educational access, an expedited reinstatement pathway, academic support, correction or modification of disciplinary language where appropriate, and written policy clarification for future emergency intervention or disarmament situations.
No student should be permanently removed from education without a fair and proportionate review of intent, circumstances, and protective conduct.
The Report Has Been Sent to Lansing
We are sending the completed report to Lansing School District leadership, Board officials, school officials, compliance contacts, communications staff, and relevant district personnel.
This is formal institutional notice.
The District now has the report. The District now has the findings. The District now has the opportunity to review, respond, and correct.
Read the Full Report
Readers can review our full FRFT/AFLF report for the complete record, findings, and recommended corrective actions:
This case is not only about one student.
It is about whether public institutions can permanently remove a child from education after their own records show the child did not possess the firearm for use as a weapon.
Transparency matters. Process matters. Educational rights matter.
Support the work:
Comments