Education News in Brief

U.S. Office for Civil Rights Dismisses Complaint on N.Y.C. Small Schools

By Catherine Gewertz — February 03, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights has declined to pursue a complaint alleging that new, small high schools in New York City discriminate against students with disabilities and those with limited English-language skills.

In a Jan. 15 letter to David C. Bloomfield, the activist who filed the complaint, the Education Department said it found insufficient evidence to warrant moving forward on his claims.

The city’s Office of New Schools in 2006 and the chancellor’s office in 2007 gave principals of the new small schools permission to delay admitting some special-needs students until their third year of operation because of staffing and resource limitations, the department’s investigation showed.

But a review of city schools data showed that in their first two years of operation, the new small schools admitted special education students who required self-contained classes or collaborative team teaching, and by their third year, were admitting larger portions of such students than were other high schools, the federal education department’s letter said.

The data also showed that limited-English-proficient students were admitted to the small schools in their first few years in percentages “comparable” to those at other schools, according to the letter.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the February 04, 2009 edition of Education Week

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz What Lowers Teacher Turnover? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz Which State Is About to Pass a ‘Science of Reading’ Law? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz What is a Project 2025 Author Doing at the Education Department? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 11, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
5 min read