The US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating an Atlanta elementary school after a parent says she learned that the school was separating students on the basis of race. The federal investigation continues even though officials with Atlanta Public Schools confirmed they had investigated the allegations and taken action against the school. However, APS has not elaborated on what action was taken.
According to reports both locally and nationally, the parent — Kila Posey– filed the complaint with the US DOE — claiming that the principal at Mary Lin Elementary School, a K-5 school, put a segregation policy in place because she thought it was best for all students. Posey and her attorney, Sharese Shields, claim the policy is a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 196 — which says that you cannot treat one group of people differently based upon race.” They claim the policy was put in place by Sharyn Briscoe, the school principal, last year.
“We’ve lost sleep like trying to figure out why would a person do this,” Posey told local TV news station WSB.
Posey serves as Vice President of Operations for the Parent Teacher Association, and says she discovered last year that the school would be placing Black students in two different classrooms with two different teachers, while white students at the school would be put in six classrooms with six different teachers. She says learned of the policy after requesting her daughter be placed with a certain teacher, but was told by the principal that “this would not work because that teacher’s classroom was not for Black students.”
Posey told WBS news that she asked for clarification on this response. She claims was told, “I have decided that I’m going to place all of the Black students in two classes.”
Some news outlets are reporting that during a recorded phone call between Posey and an assistant principal at the school where that administrator confirmed that it was the principal’s idea to separate the students.
APS has released a statement regarding the incident. “Atlanta public schools does not condone the assigning of students to classrooms based on race. The district conducted a review of the allegations. Appropriate actions were taken to address the issue and the matter was closed.”
However, they offered no explanation of what action was taken. Posey wants Briscoe and the administrators to be removed for allowing the system of segregation to be in place.
