Jury awards $160,000 in Idaho State racial discrimination case

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on April 27, 2026

By: Kevin Richert

POCATELLO, Idaho — Idaho State University will pay $160,000 in damages in a racial discrimination case.

A Bannock County jury Thursday ruled in favor of Chanica Sintima, a Black student pursuing a doctoral degree in pharmacy. Sintima said she was wrongfully removed from a clinical rotation at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls in the fall of 2023.

As a result, Idaho State gave Sintima a failing grade midway through the semester, and expelled her early in 2024. During the trial, Sintima said Idaho State applied its attendance and tardiness policies inconsistently, treating Sintima more severely than a white classmate, the Idaho State Journal reported Friday.

“We do not have to prove that Ms. Sintima’s midpoint grade was influenced by the color of her skin,” Sintima’s attorney, J. Grady Hepworth of Boise, told the jury, according to the Journal. “We just have to prove that Ms. Sintima had a reasonable concern that she might be being treated differently because of the color of her skin.”

“Idaho State University has established policies and processes in place to ensure students have a safe and respectful learning environment, and ISU’s employees work diligently to create a supportive educational experience for all students,” the university said in a  statement to the Journal. “While we do not agree with the conclusion that retaliation occurred, we respect the judicial system and look forward to moving beyond this issue.”

Sintima had originally claimed $3.4 million in damages. The bulk of the $160,000 will go toward vocational rehabilitation and retraining and lost earnings, the Journal reported; she will receive no award for pain and suffering or lost future earnings.