| Subject: Check it out here and on LOnda's Board |
Author:
Thomas Koulos
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Date Posted: 13:24:31 08/06/05 Sat
Eye on Education…. August 6, 2005…. Exclusive: Special Report
Dear Friends of Education, as you will learn from Lynn Sloneker’s special report below, yet another outside education agency is investigating Hudson’s school district. To those of us who have been watching this district for the last decade or so, this is not at all a surprise – it’s welcome.
But the question now is does the Board of Education have the courage to do what it should have done many years ago? Will the BOE start paying attention to the law (training all staff on the implementation of the Code of Conduct, for instance) and stop lying to the public (Of course, we’ve done the training)? Will the BOE start paying attention to the educational needs of our children instead of the interests of unions?
I must admit that I am not hopeful. More than half of the members of the Board have been on the Board for the last couple of years and have sat on their hands as the policies and practices now under investigation by the State Department of Education and the Federal Department of Education have been implemented. They said nothing – did nothing – when evidence of gross discrimination in the student suspension practices was presented to them.
Let’s hope that the BOE at least stands aside and lets the investigators do their work. More importantly, though, let’s hope that the BOE makes sure that our administrators are doing their jobs – getting school ready for opening day -- and not spending more taxpayer money hiding the facts.
--peter meyer.
The Feds Are Here
New Investigation of School District Revealed
Again, School Board Kept in the dark
By Lynn Sloneker
Special to Eye on Education
HUDSON (Aug. 5) The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights has initiated an investigation of the Hudson City School District, following allegations of racial discrimination related to discipline procedures at Hudson’s Montgomery C. Smith Middle School, according to Susan Aspey, spokesperson for the agency.
In a July 28 letter to Superintendent James B. Clarke Jr., Michelle A. Armstrong, Compliance Team Leader with OCR’s New York office, outlined a complaint filed April 19 against the district involving three children, all students at the Montgomery C. Smith Middle School.
At this stage of the investigation, the identities of the complainant and the children are protected.
“Generally speaking, OCR tries to make a decision on what, if any, action to take on a complaint within 30 business days. If OCR investigates, they try to have things completed within 180 days. We want to work with schools to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, not punish them,” Aspey said.
Clarke did not return a call for comment, Friday.
When contacted by phone at the middle school Friday, principal Thomas Gavin offered, “no comment” and referred calls to Clarke.
Thomas Baumgartner, President of the Hudson Administrators Association, likewise deferred comment when contacted Friday.
Board of Education vice president James Mackerer knew nothing of the investigation; he did not know of the letter’s existence, he told EoE, Friday. He said as board vice president he was “disappointed” to learn about the matter from a reporter.
This is the second time in less than a month Clarke has failed to advise the board of a pending administrative review or investigation of the district.
During the week of July 12, board president Jack Mabb learned of the existence of a July 1 letter from New York state Deputy Education Commissioner James A. Kadamus to Questar III District Superintendent James N. Baldwin, calling on Baldwin to review four key areas of concern in the district, including the continued over-classification of black students as students with disabilities, the disproportionate representation of these students in restrictive settings and the district’s continued academic problems.
Although Clarke received a copy of that letter, Mabb said he only learned of its contents through “an outside source.” Clarke later defended himself, accusing Kadamus of holding the letter, thus ensuring, he said, the letter would arrive after he left on vacation. He also suggested Kadamus could be "angry" with him and further accused the New York State Education Department of leaking the document to the news media before HCSD administration had the opportunity to review it and respond.
The OCR letter sets forth three allegations that the district is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
(1) That the children were discriminated against “…on the basis of race by excessively disciplining them during the 2004-2005 school year because they are African American.”
(2) Two of the students were “subjected [by the district]…to a racially hostile educational environment during the 2004-2005 school year by failing to take action when they complained that non-African American students called them a ‘nigger.’”
(3) That the middle school “targeted African American students for disciplinary referrals and imposed harsher sanctions on them than on white students” during three successive school years, beginning in 2002-2003.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. “The district receives such federal financial assistance and therefore, is subject to the provisions of Title VI,” Armstrong informed Clarke in the letter transmitted to district offices last week.
In anticipation of “the expeditious resolution” of its investigation, OCR requested the district comply with an extensive “data request” within 15 days.
The information requested a detailed list of at least nine documents, due in the OCR New York office no later than Aug. 15 includes:
“A copy of the district’s and, if different, the school’s disciplinary policy, code of conduct, list of disciplinary infractions and their corresponding sanctions (including but not limited to referrals, suspensions and expulsions), and an explanation of the factors taken into consideration when imposing disciplinary sanctions…
“Identify all school staff members, by race/ethnicity and job title, who were authorized to make disciplinary referrals and/or render disciplinary sanctions during the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years.”
Mabb, as chairman of the board’s Community/Board/Education Environment Committee, has attempted during the past year to gather identical data from administrators, but has seemingly failed in that quest.
At a Dec. 2004 forum on discipline issues, Gavin refused to offer specifics about his disciplinary policy. He described the process in subjective terms, telling those in attendance “everything” applies; that the punishment he administers depends on who is involved, what happened and the circumstances. He said he takes into account the child’s “discipline history.”
At the close of the 2004-2005 school year, the CBEE committee requested administrators provide specific data on the job title of any and all district personnel authorized to make referrals and the number of referrals written by each of those individuals. It is unknown if the committee’s request was fulfilled; notwithstanding the committee’s request, the information has not been released to the public.
According to NYSED, the HCSD suspension rate during the 2001-2002 school year was 15.3 percent and increased to 16.3 percent in 2002-2003.
Over a seven-month period during the 2003-2004 school year, African American students constituted 43 percent of the district’s out of school suspensions; whites represented 47 percent, according to figures provided by district administrators. At that time, approximately 63 percent of the HCSD student body was white; 26 percent African American, according to NYSED.
This is second complaint lodged against the district with the federal agency in less than two years. In Oct 2003, the district was accused of discriminatory action based on possible Title VI and Section 504 violations. (Section 504 of the civil rights law ensures equal access to an education for children with disabilities.)
That matter was investigated but suspended when OCR learned that the 504 e issues were under review by NYSED.
At the time, Clarke told the Register-Star that threats of litigation are not rare, but he had no firsthand experience with a federal civil rights complaint. “I can’t say that I remember one actually being filed,” he said.
Clarke recently tendered his resignation as HCSD superintendent, effective Sept. 20.
Mabb said during a recent public meeting the board will, in all likelihood, appoint an interim superintendent to manage the district through the coming school year, while a search is conducted.
--Peter
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