Under pressure from two civil rights groups, Pittsburgh Schools Superintendent Linda Lane is recommending the board end single-sex classes at Westinghouse High by February.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Women’s Law Project notified the district that they planned to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights because they believe single-sex classes at the school violated a federal law that says students can’t be forced into single-sex education.
“We believe our plan was not in violation, but we know it’s probably not a good use of district time and resources to take on this complaint,” Ms. Lane said.
The district opened Westinghouse as a grades 6-12 high school with single-sex core courses and academic electives this fall. It originally planned two single-sex magnet academies, but altered the model because of low enrollment.
