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Court OKs Deal Over Discipline In Mississippi School
By Holbrook Mohr
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge approved a
deal Thursday between the U.S. Justice Department and a
Mississippi school district to end discriminatory discipli-
nary practices in which black students face harsher punish-
ment than whites for similar misbehavior, authorities said.
The deal, reached in March with the Meridian Public
School District and approved Thursday, followed a lengthy
federal investigation that found that black public school stu-
dents there are five times more likely than whites to be sus-
pended from classes and often got longer suspensions for
comparable misbehavior.
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The agreement is separate from a Justice Department law-
suit that alleges that there was a “school-to-prison pipeline’’
in Meridian that locked up students for minor infractions
like flatulence or wearing the wrong color socks.
Jocelyn Samuels, a deputy assistant attorney general, said
in a statement that the school deal approved Thursday “will
propel meaningful reform in Meridian schools and serve as
a blueprint for school districts across the country.’’
About 86 percent of Meridian’s 6,000 public school stu-
dents are black. The district’s superintendent, Alvin Taylor,
is black and there is a mixture of white and black principals,
Samuels has said.
The school deal approved will
“serve as a blueprint for school
districts across the country.’’
—Jocelyn Samuels
that removes students from classrooms and ensure that con-
sequences are fair and consistent for all students.
The agreement would amend a consent decree enforced
by the U.S. as part of a 1965 desegregation lawsuit against
the district.
Samuels has said there were about 200 similar longstand-
ing lawsuits involving districts around the country and the
Justice Department reviews their disciplinary policies and
practices.
During a news conference in March, she said disciplinary
problems and disparities are not unique to the city of Merid-
ian or Mississippi and she hoped the agreement can be a
guide to other school districts.
“This consent decree is a major stride toward equal justice
and equal opportunity for all students in Meridian,’’ U.S.
Attorney Gregory K. Davis said in a statement.
The Justice Department said the district has already start-
ed to implement some conditions in the consent decree.
Among the requirements, the district must “monitor dis-
cipline data to identify and respond to racial disparities,’’
the Justice Department said.
After hours calls to Taylor’s office on Thursday were not
answered.
The lawsuit over jailed students is filed against the city of
Meridian, Lauderdale County, the two Lauderdale County
Youth Court judges and the Mississippi Department of
Human Services. That lawsuit, which is pending in U.S.
District Court in Jackson, claims Meridian police routinely
arrested students without determining whether there was
probable cause when a school wanted to press charges, and
the students were routinely jailed.
Once arrested, the students end up on probation, some-
times without proper legal representation, according to the
lawsuit. If the students are on probation, future school prob-
lems could be considered a violation that requires them to
serve the suspension incarcerated in the juvenile detention
center.
That means students can be incarcerated for “dress code
infractions such as wearing the wrong color socks or under-
shirt, or for having shirts untucked; tardies; flatulence in
class; using vulgar language; yelling at teachers; and going
to the bathroom or leaving the classroom without permis-
sion.’’
The agreement between the Justice Department and the
Meridian district, known as a consent decree, calls for the
district to fully comply with several measures to end dis-
criminatory punishment by the end of the 2016-2017 school
year.
Among the provisions in the 44-page agreement, the
school would have to limit the use of disciplinary action
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
SUB-BIDS REQUESTED
City of Seattle
Genesee CSO Reduction Project
Seattle, WA
Bid Package #GCSO-04:Mechanical
Bid Package #GCSO-05: Electrical
Bids Due: June 13, 2013 @ 2:00pm
Bid documents may be examined at local plan cen-
ters, viewed free of charge on-line at
http://www.bxwa.com, or obtained at cost from Unit-
ed Reprographics, 206/382-1177
General Contractor
Affordable Community Environments
2155 West Firestone Lane, Suite 103
Vancouver, WA 98666
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS due: No later than
4:00 p.m. Thursday, June 20, 2013
Affordable Community Environments (ACE) is issuing a
Request For Qualifications (RFQ) for a general contrac-
tor whom ACE, through a to be created Limited Partner-
ship, will negotiate for a stipulated sum contract or a
guaranteed maximum price contract for the construction
of the NE 62nd Avenue Senior Housing Apartments
Phase I (Project). The Project is a 45 unit senior housing
project in a single building with surface parking, land-
scaped areas and other site improvements located at
3112 NE 62nd Avenue in Vancouver, Washington. This is
the first of a two phased development.
The Contractor will participate with the project team in an
integrated design process including completion of archi-
tectural plans and specifications, project scheduling,
value engineering, construction sequencing, and coordi-
nation of competitive bidding for subcontractors.
HOFFMAN
CONSTRUCTION
COMPANY
Phone: (206) 286-6697
1505 Westlake Ave N, Suite 1500
Seattle, WA 98109
LIC # HOFFMCC164NC
We are an equal opportunity employer and request
sub bids from all interested firms including disad-
vantaged, minority, women, disabled veterans and
emerging small business enterprises.
5-29-13
The General Contractor will be required to follow specif-
ic funding requirements from HUD, Washington State
Housing Finance Commission, State of Washington
Housing Trust Fund, City of Vancouver HOME and
CDBG programs and Clark County HOME programs.
To be considered as a potential General Contractor,
respondents must submit a STATEMENT OF QUALIFI-
CATIONS pursuant to the RFQ package which may be
obtained by contacting Leah Greenwood, ACE Housing
Development Project Manager
via e-mail at lgreenwood@reachcdc.org.
6-5-13
June 5, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 7