Saturday, October 31, 2015
East Ramapo calls discrimination agreement 'positive'
The East Ramapo school district called an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to resolve racial discrimination claims a positive development that was part of a series of reforms being enacted.
Friday's response from board President Yehuda Weissmandl follows this week's release of a federal determination that a disproportionate number of out-of-district placements for special education students had been given to white children.
The department's Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, reviewed complaints by the Spring Valley NAACP of racial discrimination based on race and national origin, including claims that Yiddish-language classes were offered more frequently than Spanish- and Creole-language classes.
As a result of the OCR investigation, East Ramapo last month agreed to a 12-point plan to address discrimination complaints, particularly over the way the district places its special education students and in the development of alternative language programs.
Although the federal department's involvement stemmed from the NAACP's complaints, Weissmandl credited the district for initiating discussions with the OCR and said East Ramapo proposed much of the language in the agreement, which he noted was voluntary.
He said the agreed-upon monitoring and reporting requirements align with the steps East Ramapo is already taking with the New York state Education Department. The district and state have been crafting a “correction action plan” to address Creole- and Spanish-language learner situations since the state flagged the issue several months ago.
The district had engaged in a lengthy dispute with the state over its placement of special education students outside the district.
"This is a very positive development that should bring our community together, not divide it," Weissmandl stated.
Weissmandl said there were no findings of discrimination by OCR or determinations the district violated any federal law.
But Oscar Cohen, who was education chair of the Spring Valley NAACP when the complaint was filed in 2011, said the conclusions were clear: "We feel this was a comprehensive report where the investigators understood the nuance of how the system was being manipulated to benefit a certain group of white children at the expense of children of color," Cohen said.
Cohen said the NAACP found the district was referring white children to yeshivas or to the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel but keeping nonwhite children in special education programs within the district or BOCES. Using public dollars to separate white and nonwhite children is discriminatory, he said.
The federal findings come two months after Dennis Walcott, a former New York City schools chancellor, was named by state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to head a panel to monitor East Ramapo. Walcott released a statement Friday that he had been briefed on the agreement and informed the district was on target to meet its requirements.
The district has for years been mired in financial troubles and stymied by mistrust between the school board dominated by Orthodox and Hasidic men and the largely nonwhite public school families they serve. The public school community has long believed the district was using a disproportionate amount of funds to serve private school students, most of whom attend yeshivas.
The district recently named Deborah Wortham as its superintendent of schools. She replaces Joel Klein, whose retirement is set for Oct. 31.
The OCR suspended its investigation last month but wrote that it will resume if the district fails to comply with the terms of the agreement.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/ramapo/2015/10/30/east-ramapo-calls-discrimination-agreement-positive/74868312/
Friday's response from board President Yehuda Weissmandl follows this week's release of a federal determination that a disproportionate number of out-of-district placements for special education students had been given to white children.
The department's Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, reviewed complaints by the Spring Valley NAACP of racial discrimination based on race and national origin, including claims that Yiddish-language classes were offered more frequently than Spanish- and Creole-language classes.
As a result of the OCR investigation, East Ramapo last month agreed to a 12-point plan to address discrimination complaints, particularly over the way the district places its special education students and in the development of alternative language programs.
Although the federal department's involvement stemmed from the NAACP's complaints, Weissmandl credited the district for initiating discussions with the OCR and said East Ramapo proposed much of the language in the agreement, which he noted was voluntary.
He said the agreed-upon monitoring and reporting requirements align with the steps East Ramapo is already taking with the New York state Education Department. The district and state have been crafting a “correction action plan” to address Creole- and Spanish-language learner situations since the state flagged the issue several months ago.
The district had engaged in a lengthy dispute with the state over its placement of special education students outside the district.
"This is a very positive development that should bring our community together, not divide it," Weissmandl stated.
Weissmandl said there were no findings of discrimination by OCR or determinations the district violated any federal law.
But Oscar Cohen, who was education chair of the Spring Valley NAACP when the complaint was filed in 2011, said the conclusions were clear: "We feel this was a comprehensive report where the investigators understood the nuance of how the system was being manipulated to benefit a certain group of white children at the expense of children of color," Cohen said.
Cohen said the NAACP found the district was referring white children to yeshivas or to the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel but keeping nonwhite children in special education programs within the district or BOCES. Using public dollars to separate white and nonwhite children is discriminatory, he said.
The federal findings come two months after Dennis Walcott, a former New York City schools chancellor, was named by state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to head a panel to monitor East Ramapo. Walcott released a statement Friday that he had been briefed on the agreement and informed the district was on target to meet its requirements.
The district has for years been mired in financial troubles and stymied by mistrust between the school board dominated by Orthodox and Hasidic men and the largely nonwhite public school families they serve. The public school community has long believed the district was using a disproportionate amount of funds to serve private school students, most of whom attend yeshivas.
The district recently named Deborah Wortham as its superintendent of schools. She replaces Joel Klein, whose retirement is set for Oct. 31.
The OCR suspended its investigation last month but wrote that it will resume if the district fails to comply with the terms of the agreement.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/ramapo/2015/10/30/east-ramapo-calls-discrimination-agreement-positive/74868312/
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