Agreement Holds Schools Accountable for Equal Educational Opportunity

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Commonwealth Court adopted a settlement between the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, or PHRC, and the Philadelphia School District, Commission Chairperson Stephen A. Glassman announced following yesterday's court session.

The agreement finalized yesterday settles disputes argued in state courts since 1971, when PHRC concluded an investigation into allegations of illegal discrimination in the Philadelphia School District, finding that the district was illegally segregated, and denying minority students of their right to equal educational opportunity.

"This settlement is a victory for the children and families of Philadelphia, and for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in our battle to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children, regardless of race," Glassman said.

"We have fought long and hard to undo the damage urban minority children have suffered due to unequal funding, unequal programs and unequal facilities," said PHRC Executive Director Homer C. Floyd, who began his tenure in 1970, shortly before the commission launched its investigation into discrimination in the Philadelphia Schools. "This is just one more affirmation that the civil rights movement and the battle for equal opportunity and racial justice rages on and demands our attention and our resources."

"This historic settlement would not have been possible without the dedication and leadership of our Chief Counsel Michael Hardiman and Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman and the support of ASPIRA," Floyd said. "The settlement terms will ensure that the school district is held accountable for distributing funding and resources so that disadvantaged minority children receive the same opportunities as their peers."

The settlement acknowledged efforts by the Philadelphia School District to integrate schools and address racial disparities, while noting that racial disparities persist in spite of those efforts. The settlement requires the district to address persistent gaps between the achievement of its white students and that of its African-American and Hispanic students by implementing "Imagine 2014," its five-year plan to:

• Increase achievement and close the opportunity and achievement gap for all students;
• Ensure the equitable allocation of district resources;
• Hold all adults accountable for student outcomes; and
• Satisfy parents, students and the community.
  

The settlement sets reporting requirements and annual benchmarks the school district must meet for identifying low-performing schools, allocating financial and other resources to those schools, and mandating instructional evaluations for teachers, among other concrete measures.

The court's adoption of the settlement, which was drafted by PHRC staff attorneys, then adopted last week by the full commission and the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, concludes decades of enforcement proceedings and arguments about procedure and jurisdiction since PHRC issued an amended order in 1972, removing racially balanced hiring provisions from its original 1971 order.

    CONTACT:
    Shannon Powers
    (717) 783-8266

SOURCE Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission

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