MO - Outdated Desegregation Regs Prevent Black Student from Attending Charter School

Unfreaking real. And "they" say racism/discrimination is no longer an issue in this country - Really?!

This is insane.


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Hope the school has deep pockets because they are about to be (rightly) sued into oblivion.

I'm speechless.

School officials say their hands are tied because of regulations created decades ago as part of a desegregation settlement. Leaders at Gateway Science Academy believe it’s time to revisit those rules.


“If this helps us start a conversation about maybe some things that could be different with the law, then that is as good thing,” said Assistant Principal Janet Moak.

[...]

She’s also heard from parents of white students unable to participate in transfer programs for African-Americans.


“I don’t want it to be just about an African-American boy,” said White. “I want it to be about all children.”

http://fox2now.com/2016/02/23/student-cant-attend-school-because-hes-african-american/



White launched a petition asking lawmakers to take notice of her situation.

http://kplr11.com/2016/02/23/student-cant-attend-school-because-hes-african-american/

The 1980 U.S. Court of Appeals law that will prevent Edmond, 9, from returning to the city charter school, Gateway Science Academy, was created with good intentions.


The desegregation law was supposed to diversify both the city schools, which were in poor condition and predominantly black, as well as the suburban schools, in better condition and predominantly white.


But in the case of Edmond’s school, which is roughly 80 percent white, this particular application of the law will actually have the inverse effect by barring a black student.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/st-louis-student-return-school-black-article-1.2546020

Statement on St. Louis Gateway Science Academy Transfer Student:

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) would like to clarify the situation involving an African American Gateway Science Academy student denied transfer from St. Louis County to the Gateway charter school. This unfortunate situation is not due to state law or state regulations. It is a result of the student's change in residency.


Even if the family's new St. Louis County school district participated in the transfer program, the student would still not be able to transfer. This situation stems from the 1980 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the St. Louis City and County schools were maintaining segregated systems. In 1983, the schools reached a Desegregation Settlement Agreement allowing African American students to transfer into primarily white suburban school districts and for non-African American students to attend St. Louis schools. The goal was to try to balance the racial makeup of the city and county schools.


There are no state laws or DESE regulations specifically preventing African American students from transferring schools.


Please contact the DESE Communications Office if you need additional information on this situation.

https://dese.mo.gov/communications/...ouis-gateway-science-academy-transfer-student

keyleigh said:

Hope the school has deep pockets because they are about to be (rightly) sued into oblivion.

I'm speechless.

Click to expand...

I thought you had to go to the school in your neighborhood but I am not up-to-date on the charter schools as our town is too small to have any. If it has been 35+ years since this issue was decided, it is probably time to update policies in accordance with current demographics, etc.

I knew it had to be something other than "we don't let Black kids attend our schools".

This has to do with where this child lives, and whether that residence is able to transfer into that school, as a result of the laws intended to do just the opposite - to provide equal opportunity for Black children in the district.

wendybtn said:

I thought you had to go to the school in your neighborhood but I am not up-to-date on the charter schools as our town is too small to have any. If it has been 35+ years since this issue was decided, it is probably time to update policies in accordance with current demographics, etc.

Click to expand...

Many charter schools and school districts offer "open enrollment" when parents want their child(ren) to attend school in a district (or a charter school) that is superior to their own. Parents may opt to pay nominal tuition and provide transportation to a school not in their home district that offers walkability or busing.

Gateway Science Academy sounds like it might be a "magnet school" of sorts that appeals to students who excel in science. If that's the case, it seems a shame that this boy could not be accommodated. :moo:

The student's mother, La’Shieka White, has a petition, and wants to call attention to the unintended affects the old state desegregation rules are now having.

“I don’t want it to be just about an African-American boy,” said White. “I want it to be about all children.”


Some staff members at Gateway Science Academy have signed White’s petition.

Click to expand...

http://kplr11.com/2016/02/23/student-cant-attend-school-because-hes-african-american/

I respect the way this mother is addressing this situation. She wants what's best for her son, who had been attending this school prior to his move. She wants to bring attention to the fact that the regulations may have been well intentioned but bottom line, they are adversely affecting the very students they were created to assist in achieving the same rights to a good education as others.