Atlanta Mother Files Federal Complaint Over Segregation Upon discovering that Mary Lin elementary school was segregating children into separate classrooms depending on skin color, Atlanta mother Kira Posey filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. Niara Savage reported for the Atlanta Black Star that Posey had hoped to have her daughter placed in a classroom with a specific teacher, but was told that the teacher's classroom was not for “Black students.” “First, it was just disbelief that I was having this conversation in 2020 with a person that looks just like me — a Black woman,” Posey said. According to an administrator Posey spoke to at Mary Lin, the segregation policy was put in place by the principal of the Atlanta public school, Sharyn Briscoe, because she thought “it would be best for all students.” Posey’s attorney, Sharese Shields, says the segregation of children into different classrooms based on skin color at Mary Lin Elementary is in clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Read the full article here. Oregon Axes High School Graduation Requirements On July 14, Oregon Governor Kate Brown skipped standard procedure and quietly signed a bill axing many graduation requirements for a high school diploma in Oregon. Under Senate Bill 744, students will no longer be required to prove that they can read, write or do math at a high school level to graduate. The Governor's spokesperson claimed that removing such requirements will benefit “Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.” Hillary Borrud covered the story for The Oregonian. “Brown’s decision was not public until recently, because her office did not hold a signing ceremony or issue a press release and the fact that the governor signed the bill was not entered into the legislative database until July 29, a departure from the normal practice of updating the public database the same day a bill is signed.” Read the full article here. |