Ruling Prompts Md. District To Revise Program for Black Males

By Cheryl Gamble

The Prince George's County, Md., school district has revised a program designed to help young black men succeed in school after federal officials determined that it was discriminatory.

The U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights began investigating the district's Black Male Achievement Initiative early last year following a complaint from a parent whose daughter was ineligible for a middle school mentoring program.

The district created the initiative in 1990 following the release of a report that documented underachievement among African-American males, who make up more than 30 percent of...