ATLANTA — The Department of Education opened a federal investigation into Atlanta Public Schools after a parent claimed that classes at a Candler Park school separated students into classes based on race.
According to the complaint, the assistant principal at Mary Lin Elementary admitted in a recorded phone conversation she was aware of the class separation rules that the principal created in 2021.
A mother and former employee at the school, Kila Posey, filed a civil rights complaint that same year with the U.S. Department of Education, citing that Mary Lin Elementary restricted 13 Black second-graders to only two classes.
Posey said she first heard of the claims when she requested her child be put in a teacher's class. The principal, Sharyn Briscoe, denied her, Posey reported, saying the class she wanted for her child wasn't a "Black class."
In August, Posey said she was fired from being an after-school care provider for APS, prompting her to file a second complaint against the district. APS claimed Posey was fired for retaliating against the district by raising the issue of segregation with the initial complaint, the ex-employee said.
The letter from the Department of Education stated it's looking into the allegations against Atlanta Public Schools to see if the district used the classes as a form of “different treatment based on race.” According to the letter the, the investigation was opened on Nov. 14 against the school.
APS said in a statement regarding the investigation, "Atlanta Public Schools has received notice from OCR that a complaint was filed, and the district is following OCR’s process. Given that this matter is pending before a federal administrative agency for consideration, APS has no further comment.”
According to the school's website, Briscoe has been the school's principal since 2015.
The Office for Civil Rights website shows this would be the seventh investigation related to racial discrimination opened against Atlanta Public Schools.