Response awaited to DeSoto complaints
Letters detail school district’s disciplinary action of minorities
901-333-2019
A coalition of DeSoto County parents and Washington-based civil rights attorneys who filed a complaint against the county’s school system over disciplinary practices say they’re hoping for a response soon from investigators.
Speaking during a Suburban Voices podcast on commercialappeal.com, DeSoto resident James Mathis and Advancement Project attorney Jadine Johnson said this week they’ve had no communication with investigators since the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights began looking into the case.
“Today, we are still waiting to hear from the Department of Education,” Johnson said. “We filed a letter with additional information in July of this year. It included additional statistics and stories, and we are hoping we will hear from them in the next few months.”
The complaint, filed in April 2015, alleges DeSoto County Schools disciplines African-American students and students with disabilities at a disproportionately high rate. According to statistics cited in the complaint, the district’s enrollment in 2011-12 was about 30 percent African-American, but about 59 percent of students suspended are African-American.
The district, which is Mississippi’s largest public school district with more than 33,000 students on 42 campuses countywide, has Kaitlin Banner (from left), James Mathis and Jadine Johnson on Wednesday address a civil-rights complaint filed against DeSoto County Schools with the U.S. Department of Education over disciplinary practices. said it is limited in what it can say since the case is an ongoing legal matter. The district has said in a statement, however, that it has a code of conduct designed to provide a safe learning environment for all students, and believes the policy is applied fairly. Supt. Cory Uselton said on an earlier podcast that the district is working with the Department of Education to resolve complaints.
Johnson said since data clearly shows AfricanAmerican students are suspended at a much higher rate than white students in DeSoto County, she’s hopeful for a positive outcome from investigators.
And it isn’t a problem limited to DeSoto County or Mississippi, Johnson said.
“Nationwide, black students are about three times more likely to be suspended,” she said. “In DeSoto County, even though the overall (suspension) rate for all students decreased over the past few years, it has increased for black students. So we do see this as a critical problem that needs to be addressed.”
Mathis, who said his grandson was taken into custody by police after a shoving match at school, said a supplemental letter submitted for the complaint in July resulted from added stories of disciplinary issues.
“Every day, I get a call,” Mathis said.
Go to commercialappeal.com to hear the complete podcast, as well as the earlier podcast with Uselton. Associated Press