By Families sue to stop Sac school closures
Lawsuit accuses district of discrimination
UPDATED 6:49 PM PDT Jun 11, 2013
Students board a buses at Washington Elementary School in Sacramento, one of seven schools slated for closure this fall.
Parents, students and community activists rallied on the steps of the federal courthouse in Sacramento on Monday after filing lawsuit to try to stop the closure of seven Sacramento elementary schools.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a dozen students, their parents and two parent teacher organizations, claims the Sacramento City Unified School District violated the children's rights and discriminated against them when it ordered the closures in February.
"The district betrayed our trust by targeting schools that they had no justification for closing down," said Seng Vang, an organizer with the group Hmong Innovating Politics.
The schools are Washington, Maple, Collis P. Huntington, Fruit Ridge, Joseph Bonnheim, Mark Hopkins and Clayton B. Wire.
"The selection of these seven schools for closure was motivated by an intent to discriminate against the minority populations which dominate these schools and has and will have, unless enjoined, a disastrous discriminatory effect on the poor, disadvantage population which is served by these schools slated for closure," read the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names as defendants the district, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and the four school board members who voted in favor of the closures.
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