The Kent School District #415 is a public school district in the State of Washington, headquartered in Kent. Covering , the Kent School District has 40 schools (28 elementary schools, six middle schools, two academy schools, and four high schools). With 26,891 enrolled students, it is the 4th largest school district in the state of Washington. The district employs 3,389 staff members, of whom 1,687 are teachers. In the mid-2000s, the school district completed a transition from junior high schools to middle schools. The 2004–2005 school year was the first year the ninth grade was at the high school level. District boundary The district includes a large area of Kent, a significant portion of unincorporated King County, all of Covington, and portions of Auburn, Black Diamond, Fairwood, Lake Morton-Berrydale, Lakeland North, Maple Heights-Lake Desire, Maple Valley, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila. Schools Elementary schools Grades K-6 Demographics For the 2013–2014 school year there were 27,484 students. 52.4% were male 47.6% were female. The racial makeup was 37.8% Caucasian, 20.9% Hispanic, 17.3% Asian/Pacific Islander, 12.2% African American and 0.6% American Indian. Lawsuits Mark Iversen vs. Kent School District On July 23, 1997, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington filed a lawsuit against the Kent School District and five administrators on behalf of a former student, Mark Iversen. The suit alleged that the Kent School District and the administration failed to protect Iversen against anti-gay harassment. Also named in the suit were Superintendent Jim Hager, Assistant Superintendent Gwen Dupree, Principal Doug Boushey (Kent Junior High), Ben Dillard (Kent-Meridian High School) and Tom Watson (Kentwood High). The school district denied the allegations. In the suit, Iversen claimed that he was harassed from the 7th grade at Kent Junior High up to high school at Kent-Meridian. He left Kent-Meridian to attend Kentwood believing things would change, but they did not. Other incidents include: He was pushed into lockers with a broomstick and called "fag" while two teachers were unresponsive. An instructor stated to Iversen, "I already have 20 girls in my class. I don't need another." A classmate slammed a handwritten note on Iversen's chest threatening "You're dead fag." A teacher publicly questioned whether Iversen was qualified to give blood based on the perception that Iversen was gay. On numerous occasions, when Iversen would fight back verbally, it was Mark who would get into trouble, not the abusers. When Iversen reported to a teacher