Southern Poverty Law Center says public school system has discriminated against Latino students
The civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department and investigators for the U.S. Department of Education will investigate a complaint that the Jefferson Parish public school system has discriminated against Latino students and their families.
The complaint on behalf of 16 Latino students was filed in August by the Southern Poverty Law Center which terms the federal investigation a "significant step toward protecting the rights of these students."
The organization alleges that school employees have been allowed to harrass Latino students about their citizenship status.
The SPLC claims that a student at West Jefferson High School was harrassed for proof of her social security number by school staffers prior to her graduation last May. She allegedly was told she would not be able to graduate without it. Other West Jefferson seniors allegedly were subjected to a similar line of questioning.
