LDF Files Lawsuit to Ensure Enrollment of All Students as Families Return to New Orleans
February 5, 2007
When the winter term starts today, 300 students of displaced families will not be left out in the cold. As a result of a letter sent by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) on January 30th to the New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD), demanding that every child be enrolled in school without delay, all children currently on "waiting lists" will be allowed to start school.
Although RSD announced the next day it would enroll every child waiting on its rolls, LDF followed up its letter by filing a lawsuit on Thursday, February 1 to ensure that the district is prepared to meet the educational needs of every school age child that returns to New Orleans over the coming months.
"LDF remains firm in its insistence that the use of waiting lists for admission to public schools is unlawful under both state and federal laws, and that this practice must cease immediately," said Theodore M. Shaw, LDF Director-Counsel and President.
LDF's action comes amid much controversy regarding the RSD's placement of children on waiting lists to enroll in public schools. LDF delivered a letter to RSD, the Louisiana Department of Education, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and the Orleans Parish School Board, demanding that they "address immediately the deprivation of any and all educational services to students seeking to enroll in public schools in Orleans Parish." The school board and education agencies were given a deadline of 3:00 PM to immediately enroll or make adequate provisions (specified in writing) for students who had been refused enrollment and/or placed on a wait list.
The RDS's announcement comes as a welcome first step, but does not fully address the concerns outlined by LDF. In particular, LDF demanded that school authorities certify that all students who may seek to enroll in public schools in Orleans Parish in the future will not be refused enrollment and/or placed on a wait list. To that end, LDF filed a court complaint and plan to take additional action as necessary to protect the rights of all students who are denied educational services for any period of time.
A copy of the demand letter and complaint are available on LDF's website at www.naacpldf.org.
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