The academy does not have a second floor because Ye is ‘afraid of stairs,’ according to the lawsuit.
Donda Academy is a place where the uniforms are baggy sweatshirts and sweatpants, and you have the opportunity to excel in world language, visual art, film, choir and parkour. The students even have a chance to learn from NBA players like Jaylen Brown.
While this may seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, it has met with its fair amount of issues.
The mystery around Donda Academy is not new. The accredited K–12 private school in Southern California was introduced by Kanye West, now known as Ye.
The academy, named after his late mother, Donda West, has started coming out from its mysterious ways after two teachers were reportedly fired. Since then, the two have filed a lawsuit claiming wrongful termination and racial discrimination.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Cecilia Hailey and her daughter Chekarey Byers, say they were wrongfully fired in March as reprisal for reporting code violations.
Hailey shared concerns about the academy, claiming it had many safety and health violations.
She also claims that it engages in unlawful educational practices, as it does not follow California state regulations that require the academy to provide for students needing educational services or individualized learning plans.
Hailey, who’d spent 25 years working in education, including as a dean at two colleges, urged students to go somewhere else because they were already two years behind. She also said that while students may be in sixth grade, if they transfer, they will be tested and placed in a lower grade.
However, the problem that arises is even if the students move to another school, they don’t have grades or transcripts.
Hailey further emphasizes the need for licensed principals and educators. Notably, Brianne Campbell, who is the executive director and leads the choir at Donda Academy, had reportedly never held a position as an educator before.
According to Rolling Stone, her only teaching position appears to be running her own piano, singing and guitar tutoring business from her apartment.
The lawsuit included allegations that the site lacked janitorial services, security measures, a school nurse or even access to medical care. Additionally, according to the lawsuit, students were forced to eat sushi every day for lunch, were forbidden from bringing outside food and were forced to sit on the floor because seats and tables were not provided.
Reportedly, Hailey and Byers claim that principal Moira Love labelled them as “aggressive” when they had approached her to share legitimate concerns about the academy.
The word aggressive “facilitates stereotypes about African American women as being confrontational simply for doing their jobs and voicing their legitimate concerns in order to provide a safe environment and proper education for their students,” the lawsuit states.
As reported by Rolling Stone, parents were required to sign non-disclosure agreements, which were labelled to be “informal agreements.”
The biggest question, perhaps, is whether Ye’s children are enrolled in this academy. According to Ye, he wants his children to go to Donda Academy, but it seems to be they are not currently enrolled.
Ye himself was met with his fair share of controversy in the past years, from making anti-Semitic remarks to stating that George Floyd’s murder was a fentanyl-related death. Moreover, after Floyd’s mother started a lawsuit against Ye in 2022, he called her “greedy.”
During the YEEZY Season 9 event at Paris Fashion Week in 2022, Ye wore a shirt that said, “White Lives Matter.” At that same event, his daughter and the students from the academy were also in attendance.
Ye has been dropped by well-known brands such as Foot Locker, Balenciaga and Gap. And although Adidas had too, Ye and the athletic apparel brand reportedly came to a new agreement to sell the remaining YEEZY sneakers worth $500 million USD.