Minority communities are unfairly targeted for school closures, according to complaints filed last week with the U.S. departments of Education and Justice.
The Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy group based in Washington, filed three complaints alleging that school closures and privatization in Chicago, New Orleans, and Newark, N.J., violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because they disproportionately affected African-American and Latino communities.
The complaints also contend that schools in minority communities are targeted for privatization as school systems turn to private organizations to manage public charter schools.