Idaho State University will have to pay more than $725,000 to close a student’s racial discrimination lawsuit.
In addition, Idaho State was ordered to reinstate Chanica Sintima, a Black doctoral student in pharmacy, who sued the university in September 2024.
Sintima argued that Idaho State applied its absence and tardiness policies unfairly, treating her more severely than a white classmate.
Sintima said she was wrongfully removed from an Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center clinical rotation in the fall of 2023. As a result, she said, Idaho State gave her a failing grade in the middle of the fall semester, and expelled her in early 2024.
A Bannock County jury had already ruled in Sintima’s favor, awarding a $160,000 verdict in April.
In an order Friday, District Judge Robert C. Naftz brought the total judgment to $728,371.55. The additional payments will cover attorney’s fees and costs, according to the Idaho State Journal, which first reported on the judgment.
Naftz noted that the jury award did not restore Sintima’s academic standing or reopen her career path, the Journal reported. “Defendants were found liable for retaliation; they must now find a way to provide Ms. Sintima with a fair opportunity to complete her education,” he wrote in his order.
“From day one, Chanica’s goal was to become a pharmacist, and this decision clears her path to fulfilling that dream,” J. Grady Hepworth, Sintima’s attorney, said in a statement to the Journal.
In a statement to the media, university counsel said it is considering its options. “Ultimately, we respect the judicial system and appreciate the judge finding that the university can provide Ms. Sintima a fair and respectful educational opportunity if she returns to ISU.”
