A Lower Saucon Township couple say their sons have endured racial slurs and race-related attacks in Saucon Valley schools and administrators have failed to protect them.

Kerry and Sheila MacLean sued the school district in federal court over race-related events they said they have logged since they moved into the school district in 2013.

According to the lawsuit, their high school- and middle school-aged sons have been the subject of racial slurs, including the “n-word,” and they’ve been threatened and attacked by other students due to their race.

The suit says the older boy, identified only as J.L.M. in the lawsuit, was in ninth grade when a group of students identifying themselves as “rednecks” threw a confederate flag around his shoulders and told him to “wear it with pride.”

The suit says members of that group flew the confederate flag from their trucks and wore it on their belt buckles. A father of one of the group members flew the flag from his truck, according to the lawsuit.

The older son was challenged to a fight at a school dance in 2014 due to his race, according to the lawsuit. When principal Thomas Halcisak learned of the threat, he allegedly made the boys shake hands and “call a truce,” but failed to punish the alleged instigator or address the ongoing problem.

The suit says J.L.M. punched another boy Oct. 14, 2016, due to a racist video put out on social media. The video depicts the MacLeans’ son eating chicken wings. A commentator calls him the “n-word” and accuses him of being on welfare, according to Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli.

Both boys were charged in the juvenile court system and suspended after the incident. J.L.M. was cleared and wants his record expunged. The other boy was allowed to seek an “informal adjustment,” which means he could be cleared of the charges by meeting court-ordered requirements, such as community service or completing a racial sensitivity program, according to Morganelli.

On May 16, 2014, J.L.M. was forced to submit to a pat-down search by a cafeteria worker after another student accused him of stealing, the lawsuit says. The accuser frequently used racial slurs against the MacLeans’ son, the suit says.

The younger son, identified as E.M. in the lawsuit, allegedly was punished for punching another boy March 3, 2015. The lawsuit says the punch was justified because the other boy was rubbing up against E.M. and making inappropriate sexual comments.

The lawsuit says the MacLeans met with school officials on April 30, 2015, and came away encouraged administrators took their concerns seriously. But no effort was made after that to address the ongoing racial issues, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Superintendent Monica McHale-Small, who will retire this summer, spurred the formation of an inclusion committee on March 28, 2017. Its report and action plan are posted on the school district website.

But the district has yet to punish any of the students who harassed or attacked the MacLean boys, and officials have failed to put a stop to the abuse, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says school board member Ed Inghrim belittled the MacLeans’ concerns at a school board meeting.

Saucon Valley School District solicitor Mark Fitzgerald didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Hellertown Borough; Northampton County; the school district, high school and middle school; school district principals Kenneth Napaver, Pamela Bernardo and Halcisak; and former principals Eric Kahler and Lori Gamble.

A paralegal in the office of county solicitor Ryan Durkin said the county hasn’t been served with the lawsuit yet. A message wasn’t immediately returned by Hellertown solicitor Michael Corriere.

The MacLeans seek more than $75,000 in damages. That’s the limit they must exceed in order to file the federal claim.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court Friday by attorney Gary Schafkopf, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and attorney Matthew Weisberg, of Morton, Pa.

Rudy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV.