A federal lawsuit claiming an Illinois teacher gave Black students bags of cotton after a lesson about slavery drew outraged community members to their school board meeting Tuesday.

The racial discrimination lawsuit was filed against Oak Park Elementary School District 97 earlier this month by parent Candace Ward. It alleges the incident occurred during a social sciences class at Julian Middle School in April.

The teacher of the class led a “game” that involved students “putting their hands into a box to determine its contents,” the lawsuit says. The box allegedly contained “authentic cotton.”

The teacher then gave Ward’s 13-year-old daughter a separate bag of cotton and encouraged her to bring it home, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims a bag of cotton was also given to the only other Black student in the class, but no bags were given to non-Black students.

The filing of the lawsuit drew several community members to Tuesday’s Oak Park Board of Education meeting, where some alleged other students have experienced racial discrimination and harassment in the district. One mother told the board her daughter endured “racial prejudice” throughout her time attending Oak Park.

“As a result of these negative experiences, our daughter felt unsafe and ultimately missed nearly a week of school,” the mother said. “It is particularly disheartening to witness her enthusiasm for learning diminish in an environment that should serve as a safe haven.”

Another mother told the school board she sometimes regrets placing her child in Oak Park, alleging her family has experienced “racism,” “harassment” and “bias” the entire time.

Representatives of the NAACP DuPage County and Rainbow PUSH Coalition, both civil rights groups, also attended the board meeting. They told the Oak Park school board they intend to file a civil rights complaint related to the allegations.

“Why are Black students and Black families not taken seriously when they report something?” Michael Childress of NAACP DuPage County asked. “Just because you don’t see the need for concern doesn’t mean that that family doesn’t deserve concern.”

The lawsuit says Oak Park officials held a meeting with the teacher in April, where Julian Middle School Principal William Lee explained that the use of cotton in the lesson was not approved by the school. The teacher allegedly cried during the meeting and indicated she did not think the use of cotton “would cause harm.”

A spokesperson for Oak Park said that while it does not publicly comment on pending litigation, it “disputes the allegations made in this lawsuit and intends to defend itself and its employees against these claims.”

“[Oak Park] has, at all times, remained committed to providing an educational environment that is equitable, positive, safe, and free of discrimination against any student, staff, parent, and/or guardian,” the spokesperson said.

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