PHILADEPHIA--A discrimination lawsuit filed over three years ago against the Lower Merion School District by eight African American families will go to trial in November, according to a recent decision by Chief Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of PA.
The suit was first filed on July 30, 2007, and after failed mediation, the case will move forward in court.
The plaintiffs claim that Lower Merion School District "systematically discriminated against its black students by disproportionately and inappropriately referring them to and placing them in special education programs and the lowest level classes, where they are segregated from their white peers and receive substandard educations," according to a press release issued by the plaintiffs. Concerned Black Parents, Inc. and the NAACP Main Line Branch joined the families in filing the suit. Lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and DLA Piper LLP are representing the plaintiffs.
Both the plaintiffs and the school district will have until April 29, 2011 to exchange documents and information and take pre-trial testimony, the press release stated. The suit will be placed in a trial pool on Nov. 1, 2011.
"Each of the plaintiffs is disheartened that mediation failed and the case will linger into a fourth year before going to trial to amend these injustices," Loraine Carter of Concerned Black Parents said in the release. Carter said, "The federal court must compel the LMSD to expedite school reform and ensure that its entire staff is effectively trained in cultural proficiency – something that will require more than a two to five hour professional development workshop. Looking forward, we remain hopeful that sustained change is imminent with the Court's help."
In 2009, Judge Bartle denied the plaintiffs request for a class action lawsuit on behalf of all African American students in the school district, but the case has proceeded on behalf of eight of the nine families who filed, the plaintiffs said in the release. "Those cases seek to ensure correct diagnoses of disabilities and high-quality curriculums in inclusive environments, and to secure compensation for students who have already suffered from an inadequate education," the release said.
Doug Young, Information Director for the Lower Merion School District, said around 12:45 p.m. that the district would have a comment on the trial date and allegations later on Monday.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Monday, January 3rd 2011 at 3:13PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
