Feds investigating racial discrimination complaint involving some Orleans charter schools

[Blue_Tires]

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint alleging that a handful of New Orleans charter schools have discriminatory admissions.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that the Orleans Parish School Board's admissions policy for charter schools discriminates against African-American students.

The board oversees 12 charter schools, which are publicly financed but have more autonomy than traditional schools over areas like curriculum and budget.

School Board officials say they have not seen a copy of the complaint. Moreover, a letter sent by the civil rights office to the board raises more questions than it answers. It notes that the complaint encompasses all the district's charter schools, even though the schools have very different admissions practices and demographics. It also contains no information about who lodged the complaint, or why.

The letter says that the allegations include, but are not limited to: Einstein, Lake Forest, Priestley, Benjamin Franklin High School, Lusher and Warren Easton.

It notes that while the case has been opened for investigation, that "in no way implies that the (Office for Civil Rights) has made a determination with regard to its merits."

The letter, which is nearly two months old, asks the School Board to identify which of its schools use an admissions test, detail all admissions practices and provide a list of students who applied to each of its schools last year.

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2010/01/post_73.html