Portland Public Schools recently adopted a new race-conscious approach to school discipline. Last week a group filed a civil rights complaint asking the US Department of Education to investigate the new system.
The complaint filed Thursday by advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE) argues PPS is only disciplining select students based on “immutable characteristics” through its approaches, including race. The group is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate whether the practices are in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Caroline Moore, the vice president of PDE, told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) Friday the PPS guidelines “make it clear race and gender identity are at the forefront of administrators’ minds.” She argued the district is setting a “harmful precedent.”
“These characteristics will now be the main criteria for deciding severity…
