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 districts population.
The civil rights organization filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations 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 Centers 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.
Okaloosas 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.
Okaloosas complaint also criticized the school districts 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 districts overall discipline approach, Langer said, is that schools are punishing students for misdemeanor offenses the same way they do violent ones.
We think its 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.
Its safe to say were reviewing the data to see if its 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 couldnt 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 districts 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
Actually, based on racial breakdowns of adult crime figures, that sounds about right.
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?
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?
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....
QUIT BREAKING THE LAW, A--HOLE!!
Indeed. In a country that denies race exist it sure is used almost endlessly as an excuse and a weapon.
Right on!
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.
“blacks are causing the most problems,every year...it aint racist when its 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.
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.
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?
What standing does the splc have in the case?
[ 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..
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.
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
In cahoots with Obama’s Justice Department.
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.
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.
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