U.S. officials probe alleged discrimination against Asian American students in MCPS @MCPS @mocoboe

April 21 at 5:04 PM

Federal officials are investigating allegations of discrimination against Asian American students in a suburban school system in Maryland where parents have complained that race was unlawfully used as a factor in magnet program admissions.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notified families it had taken up the case in March, months after a spate of complaints was filed against Montgomery County school officials.

Parent leaders involved in the action allege that the school system — the state’s largest — discriminated against Asian American students while seeking greater racial balance in two sought-after middle school magnet programs.

They say the number of Asian American students invited into the programs fell 23 percent from 2016 to 2017, amid a wave of attention to diversity issues, and then dropped by 20 percent the next year after a new screening and selection process took effect.

Federal officials received 10 complaints raising similar concerns, which have been incorporated into one case, federal officials said in letters to parents...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/us-officials-probe-alleged-discrimination-against-asian-american-students-in-md/2019/04/21/67ecc77a-46a6-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html?utm_term=.a3cde1c63717

Has Your School Been Investigated for Civil Rights Violations?

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education investigates thousands of school districts and colleges around the country for civil rights violations ranging from racial discrimination in school discipline to sexual violence. Related: DeVos Has Scuttled More Than 1,200 Civil Rights Probes Inherited from Obama →

For the first time ever, ProPublica is making available the status of all of the civil rights cases that have been resolved during the past three years, as well as pending investigations. See if your school district or college is being investigated for civil rights violations and why.

In the past three years, 40 cases have been brought against MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS and then resolved.

Resolved Cases

6 cases had violations or were resolved with corrective change

34 cases had no violations or corrective changes

Continues at this link:

https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/civil-rights-violations?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=1529590186#49

Video: Candlelight Vigil for Taylor Walton 4-3-2016

Jawando files Civil Rights complaint against MCPS

Former congressional candidate Will Jawando announced Wednesday he filed a federal civil rights complaint alleging inequity within Montgomery County Public Schools.

“The complaint alleges that MCPS has violated and continues to violate Title VI with respect to the manner in which it administers recruitment and selection of students for admission to its highly-popular, language immersion programs at the elementary school level,” Jawando said in a statement Wednesday.

Jawando, an attorney, announced he filed the complaint on behalf of his daughter, “and other similarly situated children.”

The case relates to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights enforcement authority under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Jawando did not return multiple phone calls or emails requesting comment prior to deadline. He planned to host a Thursday afternoon press conference at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville.

“We have much work to due to ensure true equity in our schools here and nationwide,” said Jawando in a May 17 tweet, in which he said MCPS is “no exception” to a rise in high-poverty, racially isolated schools...

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/newsx/local/item/3704-jawando-files-civil-rights-complaint-against-mcps

Civil rights complaint alleges discrimination in MCPS language immersion programs

A former Obama administration White House aide has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Montgomery County school system, alleging discrimination against his daughter and other children of color in the district’s highly popular language-immersion programs.
Will Jawando, who also worked for the U.S. Department of Education and recently lost a race for Congress in the Democratic primary, argues in the complaint that the high-performing Maryland school district is violating federal law in the way it recruits and selects its language immersion students.
The school system fails to publicize the opportunities in areas with high percentages of black and Hispanic students — or to “conduct meaningful outreach” — and many parents are unaware that such options exist, according to the complaint, which Jawando filed this week.
“As a result, many of the high-demand language immersion programs enroll disproportionately high numbers of white, non-poor students, while denying benefits of the program to otherwise interested and qualified students of color and those from lower-income families,” it says.
The complaint asks the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and requests that the school system be required to enter into an agreement to expand access to, and better serve, African American and Hispanic students in elementary language immersion and other special academic programs...

...Jawando plans to gather with other affected families at a news conference Thursday outside school system offices in Rockville...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/civil-rights-complaint-alleges-discrimination-in-language-immersion-programs/2016/06/23/43ba2670-3864-11e6-9ccd-d6005beac8b3_story.html#comments