Fw: Montgomery: homeless suit

Graeme Bacque (gbacque@idirect.com)
Thu, 15 Oct 1998 01:04:39 -0700 

-----Original Message-----
From: American Homeless Society <usahomeless@hotmail.com>


SPLC files suit against schools on behalf of
homeless child

By ASHLEY ESTES

The Associated Press
10/14/98 3:32 PM Eastern

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The Southern Poverty Law
Center filed a federal lawsuit against state
school Superintendent Ed Richardson and
Guntersville and Marshall County school officials,
claiming a child was denied admission to one
school because she is homeless and a second
because she is black.

The ninth-grade student, called Penny Doe in the
lawsuit, resides in a homeless shelter near
Guntersville. The shelter's director, Karen
McConnell, attempted to enroll her in Guntersville
High School in September. Since her attempt came
after the first 10 days of the first semester,
Penny's enrollment depended on the permission of
an enrollment committee that is set up by city
school policy. She was denied admission.

Ms. McConnell called Marshall County
Superintendent Jackie Thrower and told him of
Penny's situation, the suit states. Thrower told
Ms. McConnell to enroll Penny in the Kate Duncan
Smith Daughters of the American Revolution High
School in Grant. The school is part of the
Marshall County system, the suit said.

"The DAR High School has a preference against the
enrollment of African-American children that
(Thrower) has acquiesced in," the suit said. When
Ms. McConnell told Thrower that Penny is black, he
told Ms. McConnell to enroll her in Boaz High
School, according to the suit.

Boaz wasn't a convenient alternative, the suit
claims, because it is up to an hour's drive from
the shelter in morning traffic. Penny is currently
attending Marshall County Technical School, a
vocational program near the shelter, although she
is enrolled at Boaz.

"Penny is stigmatized and isolated from children
in regular school programs," said the suit, filed
Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Montgomery. It
claims the girl is denied opportunities to receive
college preparatory classes and regular classes
such as English and physical education, as well as
participation in extracurricular activities.

The class-action suit claims the schools have
violated Penny's rights under the McKinney Act,
which was adopted to ensure that homeless children
be provided equal access to public education. It
seeks to require the schools to enroll homeless
children in schools "that white children who are
not homeless are eligible to attend."

Guntersville city Superintendent Andy Lee, Thrower
and Richardson did not immediately return phone
calls seeking comment.

In a June letter to state school board attorney
Mike White, center attorney Ellen Bowden said Lee
had announced the school would take a
"case-by-case approach" in deciding whether to
admit children residing at the shelter. If the
child's attendance and grades do not merit
attendance, they will be forced to attend Marshall
County Technical School.

"Non-homeless children who reside near the shelter
... are not forced to meet these same rigid
enrollment requirements," the letter says.
Please send any questions or comments to
news@aol.com.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights
reserved.


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