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Friday, March 29, 2013

Activists file lawsuit to stop D.C. school closures - The Washington Post

Activists file lawsuit to stop D.C. school closures - The Washington Post:


Activists file lawsuit to stop D.C. school closures



Katherine Frey/THE WASHINGTON POST - FILE: DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson speaks before the DC Council and the public about her reasons for proposing to closeschools at the Wilson Building Thrsday, November 15, 2012 in Washington, DC



Opponents of the District’s plan to close 15 under-enrolled public schools filed a lawsuit Friday in an effort to force Chancellor Kaya Henderson to keep them open.
The complaint alleges that the proposed closures, which are clustered in low-income neighborhoods east of Rock Creek Park and the Anacostia River, would disproportionately affect African American children, poor children and students with disabilities.
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Black students account for 93 percent of students affected by the proposed closures, according to the complaint, but compose 72 percent of the school system’s population. Poor children make up 82 percent of the affected students but 70 percent of the larger population, it says.
“We have proclaimed that you can’t have one city unless you have one standard,” said Johnny Barnes, an attorney for plaintiffs organized by activist group Empower D.C. “You can’t treat students west of the park different and better than you treat students