The law students and faculty working for the University of St. Thomas School of Law Community Justice Project filed a complaint March 20 with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, arguing that a Minneapolis public school routinely violates the rights of special education students.
The complaint, which also names the Black Advocates for Education organization and one of the school’s former students as complainants, accuses Harrison Education Center with failing to provide adequate instruction to its students and segregating them from Minneapolis Public Schools students who don’t have disabilities. Harrison serves high school students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders; a majority of its students are black.
The student attorneys who authored the complaint, under the guidance of Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds, say they expect that a threat of action from the Department of Justice will give district leaders a push to change how special education students, and those who are black and poor, are educated in Minneapolis.
