By Grassroots DC, on February 11th, 2014 Posted on behalf of Empower DC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 10, 2014
CONTACT: Parisa Norouzi, Empower DC (202) 234-9119 x 100
DEPOSITIONS BEGIN IN DC SCHOOL CLOSURES CASE
Chancellor among key government witnesses to be deposed, public invited to submit questions
Depositions of key government officials have begun in the case against the closure of DC public schools.
The case of Shannon Smith et al Vs Kaya Henderson et al was filed last March by members of Empower DC as part of an effort to stop the closure of 15 DC Public Schools in low income communities of color. After a hearing on May10th, Federal court Judge Boasberg did not grant a temporary injunction and the closure of 13 DC Public Schools was allowed to go forward last fall, however the court has yet to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case and litigation on the issue continues. The Judge upheld the plaintiff’s core complaints, saying in his opinion “..the parents and guardians have alleged sufficient facts to state claims of discrimination under the three civil-rights provisions at the heart of their case: the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, and the D.C. Human Rights Act.”
Today, as civil rights attorney Johnny Barnes prepares to depose Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson under oath on February 21st, Empower DC launched a call for the public to submit “Questions for Kaya.” People impacted by the closures or others with information pertaining to the inner workings of DCPS are invited send in questions via twitter (to @empowerdc), email (to Daniel@empowerdc.org) or by calling an anonymous phone hotline (202-234-9119 x 106).
Communities throughout the nation have mobilized to fight the closure of dozens of public schools, predominately in low income communities of color, in cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. To date, Empower DC’s suit is the first in the nation to have withstood dismissal and entered the discovery phase.
“We have begun pouring through thousands and thousands of internal DCPS documents and emails received during discovery,” said Attorney Barnes. “The content provides a window into the infrastructure that was responsible for decision making within DCPS. We look forward to these depositions with expectations that we will learn even more about that which motivated the closing of schools.”
“In this case Empower DC exemplifies David going against the Goliath of not just DCPS and the District government, but the large, powerful and wealthy network including the likes of the Waltons and the Gates’ who drive privatization-based school reform throughout the country,” said Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director of Empower DC. “It is no secret to us that there is more then meets the eye with regard to public education in DC. Being the nation’s capital we have been used as a laboratory for the so-called “reform” movement. The proceedings of our lawsuit will bring that to light.”
Empower DC’s members continue their campaign to save community schools, and the neighborhoods that depend upon them. “Our members never gave up their fight,” continued Norouzi. “The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that a court is empowered to order that schools be reopened, where discrimination has been found. We continue to believe that it is possible schools like Ferebee-Hope Elementary will be reopened at the end of this fight – as would be the fitting tribute to the parents and students who have been champions for their community.”
By Grassroots DC, on December 12th, 2013 Cross-posted from the Washington Post
By Aaron C. Davis and Emma Brown
 D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) chose a debate on education Monday night to make his campaign debut alongside council members, a restaurant owner, a former State Department official and others trying to keep him from a second term.
He could have picked an easier place to start.
Before a packed auditorium at Eastern High School of teachers, union leaders and activists — many of them upset with Gray’s current schools chancellor, Kaya Henderson — Gray was welcomed with a question that immediately put him on the defensive.“What is your criteria for selecting a chancellor?” asked President Elizabeth Davis of the Washington Teachers’ Union, which sponsored the forum.“Our chancellor is a person who understands the importance of working with teachers,” Gray began, eliciting a smattering of boos and groans.“She was the first appointment that was made in my administration.” More groans.As Gray got around to the heart of his response, the bell rang and he was cut off.“When you look at the results, our test scores have gone up . . . .”
Gray’s voice trailed off. He set down the microphone and returned to his seat.
It was as good as it got for the rest of the night.
The hostile crowd showed that the city’s long-beleaguered school system — and tense negotiations with its teachers union — could complicate the incumbent mayor’s reelection narrative that the city’s schools have improved under his watch.
During Gray’s three years in office, the District’s public school system has recorded rising scores on standardized testing, and Gray has highlighted those achievements as evidence of his seriousness about education reform. He would continue on that path if reelected, he said.
But in holding up test scores as the barometer of success, Gray has exposed himself to the charge that he has abandoned his skepticism of reform from his 2010 campaign. Then, he said test scores were not the largest measure of success — helping to attract the strong backing of the Washington Teachers’ Union.
On Monday, upstart candidates including restaurateur Andy Shallal, the owner of Busboys and Poets, and Reta Jo Lewis, a Democrat and former State Department official, drew the biggest applause, indicting both Gray and members of the council who seek to replace him for alienating parents and teachers amid a forceful push for school reform.
Shallal criticized mayoral control of the schools, which was authorized in 2007, saying that it has led to untenably high teacher turnover and “changed the way we put the public in public schools — people have become more disenfranchised, disaffected and disrespected.”
He also took aim at the city’s support for school choice, in which many children face long odds to win admission by lottery to the most sought-after schools.
“I don’t want to play Russian roulette with our kids,” he said. “Every single kid deserves a good education.”
Lewis drew hoots of support when she declared that, since the D.C. Council granted then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty power to take over the ailing school system, too many “secrets” have been kept about school management.
By Grassroots DC, on October 12th, 2013 Posted on behalf of Empower DC
Case Brought by Empower DC Alleges Discriminatory Impact of School Closures, Group Granted Discovery as Litigation Continues
Yesterday, Federal Court Judge James Boasberg found that plaintiffs have established sufficient facts to allow the bulk of their case alleging discrimination in the city’s pattern of public school closures to move forward.
The case of Shannon Smith et al Vs Kaya Henderson et al was filed last March by members of Empower DC as part of an effort to stop the closure of 15 DC Public Schools in low income communities of color. After a hearing on May10th, Judge Boasberg did not grant a temporary injunction and the closure of 13 DC Public Schools was allowed to go forward this fall, however the court has yet to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case, which has now survived the city’s motion to dismiss and will be litigated further.
Communities throughout the nation have mobilized to fight the closure of dozens of public schools, predominately in low income communities of color, in cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. To date, Empower DC’s suit is the first to have withstood dismissal, a point highlighted by Constitutional Law Professor Jamin Raskin, a member of the group’s legal team.
“This will be the first time that a federal court addresses evidence showing that a school system closed majority African-American schools as a response to under-enrollment when it never closed majority white schools as a response to under-enrollment. In this case, thousands of African-American and Hispanic students face school closings east of the River and only two white students find themselves in the same situation. Equal Protection simply does not permit government to impose discriminatory and selective burdens on minority communities even in pursuit of otherwise lawful objectives,” said Raskin.
In his 30-page opinion, Judge Boasberg dismissed some of the plaintiffs’ claims including those relating to compliance with the city’s statute requiring notice and input from Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, as well as those relating to disability laws. However all claims were dismissed without prejudice, a judgment which signifies there has not been a ruling on the merits of the claim and the claim could be brought in another court.
The key claims of the lawsuit have been upheld by Judge Boasberg, meaning that the plaintiffs provided sufficient evidence for litigation on those to continue. As a result, plaintiffs will be able to move forward with the discovery process during which the defendants, Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Mayor Vincent Gray, will have to make documents and data available to the plaintiffs.
The Judge’s opinion states, “The Court agrees with the District on the bulk of the Plaintiff’s claims. Nevertheless, the parents and guardians have alleged sufficient facts to state claims of discrimination under the three civil-rights provisions at the heart of their case: the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, and the D.C. Human Rights Act.”
Attorney Johnny Barnes, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “We are not unhappy with this decision. While the Court dismissed, without prejudice, many of our claims, it left the heart of the case in place. We plan to vigorously litigate the equal protection, disparate treatment and D.C. Human Rights violations aspects of the case in the weeks and months to come. We look forward to probing the minds of those District officials who undertook the school closings which the Court indicated on the face of the facts merits deeper inquiry. While we continue to believe that the ANC notice and citizen participation counts of our Complaint are strong, notwithstanding the dismissal, without prejudice, we shall likely pursue those purely local matters in another court in a case already pending. We are pleased that we were able to present a brief that caused the central theme in our case to continue — unconstitutional discrimination in the closings — while every other lawsuit filed across the Country has not met with the same success.”
Empower DC’s members continue their campaign to save community schools, and the neighborhoods that depend upon them. “Our members never gave up their fight,” said Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director. “The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that a court is empowered to order that schools be reopened, where discrimination has been found. We continue to believe that it is possible schools like Ferebee-Hope Elementary will be reopened at the end of this fight – as would be the fitting tribute to the parents and students who have been champions for their community.”
The Judge’s ruling is available at http://www.empowerdc.org/uploads/Memo%20Opinion%2010%2010%2013.pdf.
By Liane Scott, on September 25th, 2013 A coalition of adult education providers and advocates claim that high rates of illiteracy among DCPS parents not only has a negative impact on the city’s education reform efforts but also on the city’s ability to produce a well-qualified workforce and to reduce poverty within the District of Columbia. The DC City Council would seem to agree, passing a resolution that recognizes September 23 – 29 as Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. The resolution points out that the most effective way to improve the academic success of a child is to improve the educational level of the involved parent.
The gesture is laudable but a resolution alone does nothing to help meet the needs of the 1 in 5 adult residents of the District who struggle to read and write, or their families who are inevitably impacted as well. The story of one such family is featured in the video below, which was taken from the panel discussion An Investment in Adult Education Is An Investment Children’s School Success.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_FyoO2MKQU
To hold the council to the principles of their resolution, a coalition of adult learners and adult education advocates is heading to the city council to ask that they support adult literacy and training programs in the city budget. If you want to do something about illiteracy in the District of Columbia, you can make a start by attending this event:
By Grassroots DC, on September 22nd, 2013
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