There is, at least in part, illegal education discrimination in the haredi-controlled scandal-plagued East Ramapo school district, the US Department of Education (USDOE) has found.
Haredi-Controlled School District Discriminated Against Students Of Color, Feds Find
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
There is, at least in part, illegal education discrimination in the haredi-controlled scandal-plagued East Ramapo school district, the US Department of Education (USDOE) has found.
In a letter this week to the Spring Valley branch of the NAACP sent to respond to the NAACP’s complaint, the USDOE's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said that on investigation it found that a significantly disproportionate number of out-of-district special education placements were given to white children.
Presumably, a large number of those white special education students are haredi and Orthodox Jews.
OCR suspended its investigation shortly after the East Ramapo school district agreed to a 12-point plan repair this and related discrimination.
"OCR will monitor implementation of the resolution agreement. If the district fails to comply with the terms of the resolution agreement, OCR will resume its investigation,” OCR Director Timothy Blanchard wrote this week in a letter to Spring Valley NAACP President Willie Trotman posted below.
Wilbur Aldridge, who heads the Mid-Hudson NAACP, did comment on the OCR’s decision, telling the Journal News that the 12-point remediation plan and OCR’s monitoring was "almost [like] having a monitor over the [state-appointed] monitor [who was put in place to watch the scandal-plagued haredi-controlled school district earlier this year]. They are verifying what we already found. You really didn’t need the feds to tell you that it was founded."
Eric Grossfeld, a co-founder of Get Up, Stand Up: East Ramapo, a local advocacy group, also welcomed the OCR’s findings and the 12-point remediation plan the district was compelled to accept.
“[It’s] a tremendous breakthrough for everyone fighting for equality in East Ramapo,” Grossfeld reportedly said.
The East Ramapo school district’s spokesman was unavailable when the Journal News sought comment on OCR’s findings.
12-Point Resolution Agreement:
Resolution Agreement East Ramapo CSD 02-11-1091 and 02-15-1140
OCR Letter To NAACP:
Determination Letter Spring Valley NAACP East Ramapo CSD 02-11-1091 and 02-15-1140