Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Complaint: Okaloosa schools discriminate against black students
nwfdailynews ^ | 8/7/2012

Posted on 08/09/2012 6:31:00 PM PDT by Altura Ct.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a federal complaint against the Okaloosa County School District, alleging disciplinary discrimination toward black students.

The 22-page document asserts that in the 2010-11 school year, black students accounted for about 47 percent of all in- and out-of-school suspensions, although they made up only 12 percent of the school district’s population.

The civil rights organization filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights after more than a year of investigation.

“It started with complaints that we received from parents in the Panhandle. We were just hearing all these stories and we were like, ‘What? Not in this day and age,’ ” said Stephanie Langer, the staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Florida office. “We were surprised and shocked with what we found.”

After studying school districts across the state, the organization decided to file complaints against the Okaloosa, Bay, Escambia, Flagler and Suwannee County school districts. The first complaint was filed in February and concluded last month with accusations filed against Okaloosa County.

Investigations have been launched in Escambia and Suwannee counties based on the complaint, Langer said.

“I think we have enough evidence to file in all 67 districts in Florida,” she said. “What we found were these five counties were very representative of what was happening in the state.”

Okaloosa’s complaint specifically cites experiences of four students who are identified by only their initials and ages. Two attended Riverside Elementary School in Crestview and one attended Fort Walton Beach High School. The fourth attended Okaloosa Academy Charter School in Fort Walton Beach, which is overseen by the Rader Group.

Okaloosa’s complaint also criticized the school district’s site-based management program, which leaves most discipline issues in the hands of principals. Only expulsions are handled at the district level.

The trouble with that practice and the district’s overall discipline approach, Langer said, is that schools are punishing students for misdemeanor offenses the same way they do violent ones.

“We think it’s a problem with schools criminalizing kids for being kids,” she said.

Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts said her staff received the complaint Monday and had only just begun investigating the allegations.

“It’s safe to say we’re reviewing the data to see if it’s valid or not,” Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts was able to confirm that the district did have a 12 percent population of black students in 2010-11, but couldn’t confirm the other numbers.

She said the percentages could change based on the number of times a single behavioral incident was reported.

Tibbetts also defended the district’s site-based management program. She said it was truly the best option not only because of staffing shortages at the district level, but because principals can keep up with individual student discipline issues more easily.

She did emphasize that similar policies were in place at each school.

“We have a consistent expectation for behavior in our school district, and that is regardless of the color of your skin or gender or any other attribute,” she said.

Tibbetts said no one with the federal education department had contacted her as of Tuesday afternoon.

Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/school-51533-students-black.html#ixzz236PfWSxv


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: blackstudents; discipline; discrimination; splc
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-47 next last
Complaint here:http://richmedia.onset.freedom.com/nwfdn/m8ez3b-8complaint.7.18.12reduce.pdf
1 posted on 08/09/2012 6:31:05 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.
The 22-page document asserts that in the 2010-11 school year, black students accounted for about 47 percent of all in- and out-of-school suspensions, although they made up only 12 percent of the school district’s population.

Actually, based on racial breakdowns of adult crime figures, that sounds about right.

2 posted on 08/09/2012 6:32:35 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

We should be complaining about their percentages being so high. What, now are all students supposed to be equally in trouble? What about behaving appropriately or you get suspended?


3 posted on 08/09/2012 6:34:21 PM PDT by bboop (Without justice, what else is the State but a great band of robbers? St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

We should be complaining about their percentages being so high. What, now are all students supposed to be equally in trouble? What about behaving appropriately or you get suspended?


4 posted on 08/09/2012 6:34:33 PM PDT by bboop (Without justice, what else is the State but a great band of robbers? St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

yes, of course, poor black students are always being discriminated against, couldnt be that they are actually troublemakers....i see it here in the pittsburgh public schools.....blacks are causing the most problems,every year...it aint racist when it’s true....


5 posted on 08/09/2012 6:36:16 PM PDT by raygunfan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

QUIT BREAKING THE LAW, A--HOLE!!

6 posted on 08/09/2012 6:38:28 PM PDT by Maceman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: raygunfan
couldnt be that they are actually troublemakers

Indeed. In a country that denies race exist it sure is used almost endlessly as an excuse and a weapon.

7 posted on 08/09/2012 6:39:18 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: raygunfan

Right on!


8 posted on 08/09/2012 6:40:30 PM PDT by willibeaux (de ole Korean War vet age 82)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

The 22-page document asserts that in the 2010-11 school year, black students accounted for about 47 percent of all in- and out-of-school suspensions
...........................................................
That’s because 47% of the time they were guilty of the violations.


9 posted on 08/09/2012 6:42:17 PM PDT by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: raygunfan

“blacks are causing the most problems,every year...it aint racist when it’s true....”

I agree 100%. Whenever I take the subway and the train, guess what? Even the hispanics and Asians beside me on the train when I talk to them after leaving the station: BLACKS are the troublemakers.

After taking the train and subway for the past many years and I have seen it all, EVERY time they are the ones who act like animals.


10 posted on 08/09/2012 6:43:10 PM PDT by max americana (Make the world a better place by punching a liberal in the face)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: bboop
Don't you get it?

Don't punish the kid that committed the infraction (if they are a member of a protected class), slap the shit out of the white kid next to him to scare the offending student.

Makes perfect sense and keeps the quota's in order.

11 posted on 08/09/2012 6:44:48 PM PDT by Aevery_Freeman (All Y'all White Peoples is racist!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is very close to a hate group.. I’m not sure why you would post them...

It’s not the choice of victim that makes a hate group - it’s the tactics. If an ‘in’ group discriminates and damages unfairly ANY lawful group - they’re haters. These people - the SPLC - uses the same KKK type tactics - but against white middle class citizens.

I’m not sure they have anything to offer except to extreme liberal elites ... why would you post them here?


12 posted on 08/09/2012 6:50:04 PM PDT by GOPJ (Freeper Neveronmywatch's convinced - you put a compass in the hands of a liberal it'll point south.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.
Well, if the SPLC says so, then it must be true....

13 posted on 08/09/2012 6:51:55 PM PDT by Emperor Palpatine (Tosca, mi fai dimenticare Iddio!!!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

What standing does the splc have in the case?


14 posted on 08/09/2012 6:52:24 PM PDT by yarddog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

[ black students accounted for about 47 percent of all in- and out-of-school suspensions ]

Could be that its much higher than 47% except 10% to 20% additional problem makers were given a pass BECAUSE they were black.. or female or very young.. or because they were exceedingly SCARY.. and school personnel were afraid of them..

Maybe 60% or more..


15 posted on 08/09/2012 6:53:05 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: max americana

Interestingly enough , they come from their own racist subculture who will not do what whitey wants.

Only one problem. Whitey learned along time ago that there is only one way to put a nut on a bolt.

What these blacks have to do is do something that would make their parents proud by accomplishment... doing something and achieving something by participating in the “system”. Get educated, get a job, scrimp/ save and get ahead. They have to learn it is a process.

Perhaps that is the problem... no patience... It has to be here and now! Even if they have to resort to traditional African culture of jacking it.


16 posted on 08/09/2012 6:54:08 PM PDT by himno hero (hadnuff)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

I am white and when I was in high school I represented about 1/4 of 1% of the students in the school. I was discriminated against because they gave me at LEAST 5% of all detentions for the year.......whine


17 posted on 08/09/2012 6:56:01 PM PDT by terycarl (lurking, but well informed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Altura Ct.

In cahoots with Obama’s Justice Department.


18 posted on 08/09/2012 6:56:59 PM PDT by Iron Munro ("Jiggle the Handle for Barry!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GOPJ; Altura Ct.

The SPLC is actually the private organization to which the Obama regime has turned over the tracking and naming of hate groups. One of the recent articles about that shooter at the temple contained several paragraphs about the SPLC, and that is exactly what they said.

The government is not permitted to perform that level of surveillance of private citizens who have committed no crime and also not permitted to declare an organization something as nebulous as a “hate group,” and for this reason, the SPLC is actually contracted to identify and monitor “hate groups.” (Needless to say, they don’t consider radical black anti-white groups as hate groups, of course.)

I was stunned that they were not only open about it, but boasting about their power to identify and track “hate groups” on behalf of the Federal Government.

Pretty scary.


19 posted on 08/09/2012 7:00:03 PM PDT by livius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Venturer

Bingo!

As a former inner city public school teacher I can verify the reason more black kids are in trouble is because more black kids cause trouble.

This measuring discrimination based on outcome was bullpuckey from the beginning and needs to stop.


20 posted on 08/09/2012 7:00:11 PM PDT by MtBaldy (If Obama is the answer, it must have been a really stupid question)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-47 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson