The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware and the Community Legal Aid Society filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on Dec. 3 charging that the state’s charter school laws have led to de facto resegregation of Delaware’s public schools that violates the rights of minority students and students with disabilities.

More than 75 percent of the state’s charter schools predominantly serve either white or minority students, and those serving minority students vastly underperform those serving white students, according to the groups.

Four of the state’s five high-performing charter schools are “racially identifiable” as white. None of the schools identified as black or Hispanic is high-performing, and four of eight failing charter schools are identified as black.

The groups also charge that charters pull away many higher-income white students from traditional public schools, with a disproportionate number of minority, low-income and disabled students left behind.

The problem stems in large measure from some charters’ enrollment requirements — including entrance exams, parent essays, mandatory parental involvement and required fees and uniforms — that prevent low-income students from attending, the complaint argues.

“The fact that it is de facto segregation is still segregation,” said ACLU attorney Richard Morse.

The News Journal, Dec. 3
Education Week, Dec. 3