Parents of Jackson Public School students have filed a lawsuit against Dr. Carey Wright, the State Superintendent of Education, Rosemary Aultman, Chair of the State Board of Education, and Heather Westerfield, Chair of the State Commission on School Accreditation after the recent decision for the state to take over JPS.
40 plaintiffs were named in the lawsuit and all of them are parents of students within the Jackson Public School District.
The lawsuit states that all prior takeovers by the Mississippi Department of Education have failed.
“Defendants’ and MDE’s takeovers have been unsuccessful, and directly affect parents’ and school children’s constitutional rights to their public school education.”
The lawsuit also states that of the 19 takeovers in 16 separate districts, only 14 of the public school districts exist today in some form or another and that of the 14 districts that still exist, most have a current unsatisfactory, or”D,” grading and three of the districts that were taken over are currently “F” graded districts.
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The suit was filed by Dorsey Carson Jr., and attorney in the Jackson area who is also a parent of a JPS student.
Last week MDE and the State Board of Accreditation voted in two meetings to take over JPS, one of the states largest school districts.
Click here to view the full lawsuit
