State Journal

Wisconsin schools with American Indian mascots, nicknames, or logos should replace such symbols with more racially sensitive images, a state lawmaker says.

Legislation submitted to the House this month by Rep. Frank Boyle, a Democrat, proposes that the state schools superintendent be required to hold a hearing on all complaints about Native American images used by schools. Such hearings would determine whether a mascot or other symbol was derogatory.

The burden of proving that an image was not discriminatory would fall to the local school board, under Mr. Boyle's measure. If the state superintendent ruled the symbol was inappropriate, the district would then be ordered to stop using the symbol within a year. Violating the order would cost between $100 and $1,000 a day in...