麻豆精品

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter

Updated July 17

Families who sued over the closure of Providence’s 360 High School have entered into a with the school district, Rhode Island Department of Education, Providence School Board and state Commissioner of Education Ang茅lica Infante-Green. The settlement does not reverse the shutdown but details changes that must be made to the plan to merge the school with the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex. Those include specific initiatives to prioritize the needs of English learners and their parents and opportunities for displaced staff to apply for positions at the newly merged school.

The impending closure of a small Rhode Island high school has prompted some rare pushback: Spanish-speaking families have brought a federal class-action against the Providence Public School District, Providence School Board, state Department of Education and state education commissioner under the . With an argument that traces a direct line back to Brown vs. Board of Education, the plaintiffs are claiming that the shutdown of 360 High School violates the students’ and their families’ right to an equal education.

Typically, the act is invoked after a denial of guaranteed services. But these plaintiffs are bringing a case to preserve a school that they say already meets their needs. Attorney Jennifer Wood, director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, said the act codified in law that schools must remove barriers for English learners and their parents. The act was based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in a 1973 case called , which descended from Brown and determined that failing to provide supplemental language classes violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment.

Describing an 鈥渁rc of history鈥� from Brown through to the 1974 legislation, Wood said, 鈥淓ach one of those redefines who gets to be in public schools and how we are going to fully include them.鈥�

In February, Providence district leaders, under state oversight, unexpectedly announced that 360 was slated for a 鈥渕erger鈥� at the end of the academic year. Students, but not teachers or administrators, would be absorbed into the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex鈥檚 new Life Sciences Institute. 

District and state leaders said closing 360 would benefit its students by providing them access to programs Juanita Sanchez runs through partnerships with the state Department of Health, alongside internships and research opportunities with local industry collaborators, labs and hospitals. They cited 360鈥檚 . 鈥淚 have to make some very tough decisions,鈥� Superintendent Javier Monta帽ez said at a City Council meeting. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to do everything I can to protect my students.鈥� The merger was to save the district $1.5 million to 2 million.

But 360’s families and staff were not convinced. Math teacher Ellen Foley, who has worked at the school since its founding nine years ago, said in an interview that it follows a clear philosophy: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e building a community when you build a school.鈥� In a district where students choose their high school at the end of eighth grade, 360’s families specifically selected the school in part due to its reputation for supporting English learners. The students 鈥�  of whom don’t speak the language at home 鈥� take English classes that are co-taught by ESL teachers, and Student Council meetings are conducted in English and Spanish. 

Hundreds of alumni, parents, teachers, staff and students attended meetings of the , , and committees to plead for the closure decision to be reversed. There were protests and rallies. Some meetings required and were so crowded that police were called. At one meeting, 360 senior Michael Isom said, 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 let me speak and they didn鈥檛 let my mother speak. They don鈥檛 let certain people speak.鈥� 

Still, community members advocated wherever they could be heard. At school board meetings, they donned custom T-shirts and passed out bright orange and blue stickers proclaiming 鈥淪ave 360.鈥� They pointed to data showing that 360 the district in nearly every category in terms of how community stakeholders feel about their schools.

After Wood learned about the school鈥檚 forthcoming closure from student activists, she attended a February school board meeting that lasted nearly four hours. She listened as parent Lucia Mejia told the board through a Spanish translator that her nonverbal son was confused about the closure and testified to 鈥渢he love that he has for going to school.鈥�

But at every meeting, district and state leaders repeated that their decision to close 360 was irreversible, and families began to look for other options. Wood met with several who had testified. 鈥淭he words they used with us were, 鈥榃e want to fight for our children,鈥� 鈥� she said. Plaintiffs told Wood their experiences at 360 High School were far better than those at other schools in the district. 鈥淭hey had really good communication from the school, which was a contrast to their prior experiences,鈥� said Wood.

They were also concerned about their children鈥檚 safety at other schools, citing fears that they wouldn鈥檛 be told if something went wrong or that communication wouldn鈥檛 be conducted in a language they understood. And they worried that students hadn’t been given adequate transition planning for shifting over to the new school. Already, at least 17 of the 286 students enrolled at 360 have decided not to attend Juanita Sanchez and are choosing other options.

Wood believed the families had a strong case to stop the closure under the Equal Educational Opportunities Act and filed a against Providence Public School District, Providence School Board, the state Department of Education and Commissioner of Education Ang茅lica Infante-Green on April 22. 

Juanita Sanchez, the lawsuit says, has been classified as low-performing for 13 years, about a decade longer than 360. And while only of 360鈥檚 English learners met growth targets on standardized assessments, Wood said families fear they will not receive a stronger education elsewhere. The district has for years to with the act and provide appropriate services for students with limited or no English. 

Wood filed a motion for preliminary injunction on April 29, asking the court to halt the closure of 360 until a decision is reached in the case. District spokesman Jay Wegimont declined to comment on the lawsuit other than to say the district and state “acted in the best interests of students and are committed to expanding access to high-quality learning opportunities for all students, including multilingual learners.鈥� 

On June 6, Chief Judge John McConnell of the United States District Court of Rhode Island 鈥嬧�媎enied a motion by the defendants for summary judgment and ordered that the parties enter an expedited discovery process. After that, he will rule on the preliminary injunction. While Wood and the plaintiffs are pushing for a decision as soon as possible, it may not come before the last day of school on June 24. 

But the end of the school year would not mean the end of the lawsuit. If a preliminary injunction is granted after June 24, the school closure will still be halted until the court decides the case. Displaced 360 teachers and administrators, including some who have taken jobs at other district schools, would need to be reinstated, and student placements would need to be adjusted. Wood said this sort of last-minute shuffling is sometimes hard for the community, but it has been done before in the case of lawsuits or settlements in various urban districts.

In school closure cases where a preliminary injunction was not granted, lawsuits have proceeded even after specific schools shut their doors for good. Though the eventual rulings did not save particular schools, they could still have an impact on the procedure followed in future closure decisions. 

Even if the preliminary injunction is granted, the district could close 360 later. Depending on the eventual outcome of the case, what that would look like for students and families could change. 
Meanwhile, at 360, Foley said the students, teachers and families are pushing forward 鈥� focused on celebrating their 鈥渨onderful community鈥� and 鈥渃losing with dignity and celebration鈥� 鈥� before their potential last-ever day of school. But Wood believes that if her case prevails, English learners could 鈥済et a pathway forward where their needs and perspectives are taken into consideration.鈥�

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter