360 High School closure in Providence sparks federal lawsuit. What we know
Providence Public School District students and parents have filed a lawsuit related to the controversial closure of 360 High School, arguing that the school is vital for a segment of Spanish-speaking students.
The Center for Justice, a legal nonprofit, announced the suit against PPSD and the Rhode Island Department of Education on Tuesday.
"The suit asserts that closing the school violates the federal Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974," the organization said in a statement. "This civil rights law protects multilingual students and their families in the public schools. It requires that school districts make affirmative effortsto support equal educational opportunity and to remove barriers to language access for Multilingual Learner students and their families."
More: Students stage walkout over 360 High School closure. Here's why it's shuttering.
Who is behind the lawsuit?
According to CFJ, all plaintiffs in the suit "are immigrant families who chose 360 High School for their children because they learned that the school offers exceptional support to Spanish speaking students and their families."
The suit, brought by four parents, states that 60% of the school's students are Spanish speakers.
"This action is brought to prevent the Defendants from disestablishing their school, reassigning the students to a school that is, in all critical regards relating to their language access and support, lower performing than the school being closed," the suit read.
PPSD spokesman Jay Wegimont offered a brief reply to the suit.
"PPSD and RIDE acted in the best interests of students and are committed to expanding access to high quality learning opportunities for all students, including multilingual learners," Wegimont said. "Legal counsel will respond formally."
Behind-the-scenes: What led to the closure?
Plans for the closure went public in February when Superintendent Javier Montañez announced 360 would merge with Juanita Sanchez High School. Both institutions are housed under the same roof at the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex, or JSEC.
PPSD has continually portrayed the closure as a merger, though numerous teachers are being displaced without full assurances of a new job in the district, and students will be switched to a different school. Montañez has said the merged students will make up a new Juanita Sanchez Life Sciences Institute launching next year, which will "focus on preparing Providence students for high growth, high wage industries in the life sciences."
However, the closure has prompted outcry from some students and teachers, and also Providence City Council members who held a hearing on the closure. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green did not attend the meeting despite an invite, angering councilors amid ongoing questions over the closure, which they say lacked community engagement.
More: City Council holds hearing on 360 High School closure, but Infante-Green absent
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Spanish-speaking families sue over closure of 360 High School
