San Marcos High School disciplines students over blackface TikTok post

San Marcos High School administration has responded to a racist TikTok post involving students portraying blackface. The social media content featured a slideshow where students' faces were superimposed onto Black individuals' bodies, accompanied by a caption using emojis often used as a substitute for racial slurs.

Principal Dare Holdren reported that the incident was flagged through the school’s ‘Safe to Speak Up’ system two weeks prior to a formal email being sent to the community on September 25. The school has since contacted the families of the students involved and instituted disciplinary consequences through an established student discipline process. Holdren stated the administration is working to educate the students on the impact of their actions.

Hilda Maldonado, Superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, condemned the incident, noting that blackface has a history of dehumanizing Black people. While the district will not disclose specific disciplinary measures to protect student privacy, officials emphasized that racial stereotypes and discrimination have no place in the school community.