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Nettleton Middle School in Mississippi is facing criticism in the wake of reports that its students were told they could only run for certain student council posts based on their race.

According to a memo obtained by The Smoking Gun that was distributed to students enrolled at the public school last week, black children are not eligible to run for the position of class president or secretary-treasurer. Those roles are available only for their white counterparts, the notice indicates; however, they are able campaign for the title of vice president or reporter, and it seems white children are not allowed to vie for those specific posts.

Brandy Springer pulled her two children from the school after her 12-year-old daughter, who is half native-American and in the 6th grade, was told she didn't meet the qualifications to run for the office of reporter on grounds that she was not black, the AP reports.

According to the website MixedandHappy, Springer's daughter was told "she should run for class president, that was open to only white students." When the Nettleton mother initially took the matter up with the school board to inquire about which racial category her daughter fell under given her mixed-race, she was told, "Go by the mother's race b/c with minorities the father isn't generally in the home."

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