蜜桃传媒

The Southern Poverty Law Center (蜜桃传媒) today welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education that they will investigate two additional components of an 蜜桃传媒 civil rights complaint that describes widespread discrimination against Latino students and their families in Louisiana鈥檚 Jefferson Parish Public School System (JPPSS).

鈥淲e are pleased with the departments鈥� decision to investigate all of our concerns regarding the treatment of Latino students and their families in the Jefferson Parish School System,鈥� said Jennifer Coco, staff attorney in the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Louisiana office. 鈥淭he investigation is a significant step toward protecting their rights and creating a more welcoming school environment.鈥�

In a Nov. 13 letter announcing the investigation, U.S Attorney Paul D. Castillo said the departments would expand their investigation to examine: 鈥�(1) whether the District provides national origin-minority parents who have limited proficiency in English with information provided to other parents in a language they understand; and, (2) whether the District failed to take prompt and effective action to respond to harassing conduct creating a hostile environment for Latino students based on national origin, of which JPPSS knew or should have known.鈥�

鈥淧arental involvement is key to a child鈥檚 success in school,鈥� Coco said. 鈥淭hat is why it is so important for the school district to ensure these parents receive information about their child鈥檚 education in a language they can understand. If the district shuts these parents out of their child鈥檚 education, they are only setting these children up for failure.鈥�

The investigation will be led by the Department of Justice鈥檚 Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights 鈥� the primary federal agencies charged with ensuring equal protection under the law for all people within the United States.

Last month, the departments announced a joint investigation into the JPPSS鈥檚 policies and practices regarding the documentation needed for student registration, enrollment and graduation.

The 蜜桃传媒 complaint, filed in August on behalf of 16 Latino students and their families, outlines how the district created a hostile environment by allowing employees to harass Latino students about their citizenship status. The complaint also describes the district鈥檚 failure to provide Spanish-speaking parents with limited English proficiency access to information regarding school activities and adequate translation and interpretation services.