More than a year ago, the Southern Poverty Law Center described in a federal lawsuit how students in Alabama鈥檚 Mobile County public schools are suspended for minor infractions for months at a time without the constitutionally required notice and hearing.
African-American students in several Florida school districts were subjected to harsh disciplinary policies at a far higher rate than their white classmates. These students were often subjected to long-term suspensions, expulsions and even arrested at school for relatively minor misconduct.
When 11-year-old J.B. was caught with a cell phone in class, the student received a five-day suspension. The school district in Okaloosa County, Fla., meted out the harsh punishment because the incident was considered 鈥渋nappropriate behavior.鈥�
Almost two years after finding that Mississippi鈥檚 Jackson Public School District violated federal special education law, the Mississippi Department of Education had failed to hold the district accountable and ensure that its students with disabilities were receiving services required by federal law. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class action lawsuit in 2012 against the department on behalf of these students.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit today against the Mississippi Department of Education for failing to ensure that students with disabilities in the Jackson Public School District receive the education and services required by federal law.
It took an opinion from the United States Supreme Court, but this week our nation officially recognized the obvious 鈥� children are fundamentally different from adults and our criminal justice system should not lock them up and throw away the key.
North Carolina鈥檚 Wake County Public School System denied Spanish-speaking parents the opportunity to participate in their children鈥檚 education. The school system provided school notices, such as notices of long-term suspensions and special education materials, in English to English-speaking parents but failed to provide this information to Spanish-speaking parents in Spanish 鈥� discriminating against these students and violating state and federal law. The Southern Poverty Law Center and Advocates for Children鈥檚 Services, a project of Legal Aid of North Carolina, filed a complaint against the school district with the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights. This complaint resulted in the school district agreeing to develop a plan to ensure Spanish-speaking parents have the opportunity to participate in their child鈥檚 education.
In Louisiana鈥檚 Jefferson Parish Public School System, African-American students face a harsh reality. Typical teenage misbehavior, such as horseplay or cursing, doesn鈥檛 result in a trip to the principal鈥檚 office. Instead, these students are shipped off to alternative schools where they often languish for months, even years.
A federal judge has approved a settlement agreement between the Southern Poverty Law Center and the public school system in Jackson, Miss., to reform discipline policies across the district and to end the brutal practice of handcuffing students to railings and poles for hours at a time as punishment for minor rule violations.
African-American students and students with disabilities in Louisiana鈥檚 Jefferson Parish Public Schools were disproportionately referred to alternative school, where they often languish for months or even years before returning to regular classes. These students often were referred to alternative schools for minor misconduct, such as disrespectful behavior, use of profanity, disrupting class and horseplay.
