ACLU Sues Over Fla. District’s High School Graduation Rates

Constitutional Law

ACLU Sues Over Fla. District’s High School Graduation Rates

Posted Mar 18, 2008, 08:31 pm CDT
By Martha Neil

In what the American Civil Liberties Union is billing as a first-in-the-nation lawsuit, the civil rights organization has filed a complaint against a South Florida school district contending that it is violating the state constitution by not graduating enough of its students.

Additionally, the lawsuit contends that what a press release describes as "the stark difference in graduation rates along racial lines" alone would be sufficient to show that the Palm Beach County School District is not providing the high-quality education required by the state constitution. It was filed today in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the Associated Press notes.

“If Palm Beach County is not graduating a third or more of its students, it is by definition providing an inadequate education,” says Chris Hansen, an ACLU senior staff attorney. “Unfortunately, this is just one example of a larger disturbing trend of poor graduation rates across the country.”

Filed on behalf of students and their parents, the class action suit does not necessarily seek an increase in funding but does seek an increase in student graduation rates, as well as a reliable measure of student graduation rates. Presently, the ACLU says, perhaps one-third of the district's students are not graduating from high school on time with a regular diploma.

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