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Permission Passes for Racial Slur Use at MD School

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POTOMAC, Md. (AP) - Students at a high school in a Washington suburb of Maryland have been caught distributing passes that gave the bearer permission to use a racial slur for black people.

According to police data and school officials, Winston Churchill High School has been the site of multiple bias-related incidents since the 2016 school year, including a swastika drawn on a desk just days before the passes were exchanged. Citing statements from principal Brandice Heckert, WJLA-TV reports students participated in the distribution of the paper passes during Friday's lunch period.

Heckert didn't share the consequences for the students, but said they would "match the severity of the action." School officials haven't released the races of the students involved. It's unclear how many students were involved and how many passes were handed out.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.