(KTXL) — A racist social media post made by a Dixon Unified School District student is being investigated, the district said on Wednesday.

The post was reportedly posted during lunch to the Instagram account of a 7th-grade student at John Knight Middle School. Staff was alerted to the racist post by a parent at around 3:30 p.m.

According to the district, the post includes photos of about 20 students and at least one staff member. Those in the photos are all either Black or bi-racial, the district said.

The district said those in the photos are smiling — clearly unaware of how their photo would be used. The words “Happy black history month to all of the monkeys” were posted along with the photos, according to the district. 

“Never in my thirty-five years in education have I seen something so hateful, vile, and abhorrent come from one of my students,”  Superintendent of Schools Brian Dolan said in a statement. “This is a shameful, shameful moment for which there is no excuse or explanation. As the leader of Dixon Unified, and a person who places great value on each and every one of our students, I apologize for this post.”

According to Dolan, the post will be handled as a school-related incident. An investigation will be done, and as much information as possible will be made public without violating the privacy rights of the student.