ACLU Drops Community Education Partners from Federal Lawsuit After Atlanta Severs...

ACLU Drops Community Education Partners from Federal Lawsuit After Atlanta
Severs Contract

Responsibility For Ensuring All Students Receive Adequate Education Falls
Squarely On Atlanta Independent School System

ATLANTA, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After the Atlanta Independent
School System (AISS) severed its contract with Community Education Partners,
Inc. (CEP) to run the city's alternative school, the American Civil Liberties
Union today dropped the private, for-profit company from its federal lawsuit
challenging the inadequate education provided by the school to its students.
AISS declined to renew its $7 million annual contract with CEP to run the
school - one of the most dangerous and lowest performing in the state - after
the ACLU and the ACLU of Georgia filed a lawsuit last year against CEP and
AISS for violating students' constitutional rights.

AISS remains a defendant in the lawsuit and now bears full responsibility for
improving the school's performance and practices, which have been abysmal by
nearly every available measurement.

"The appalling performance of the school while run by CEP highlights the
significant problems inherent to the privatization of public education and
AISS deserves credit for ending its relationship with CEP," said Reginald T.
Shuford, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. "It is
of paramount importance, however, that this be only a first step. It is now
incumbent upon AISS to honor its commitment to provide all of its students
with an adequate public education."

The ACLU's initial lawsuit charged violations by the school district and CEP
of students' constitutional rights under federal and state law, including the
students' rights to due process and to be free from unreasonable searches. The
school, managed by CEP since 2002, was designed as a privately-run,
taxpayer-funded alternative middle and high school for students with
behavioral problems. However, the placement process is often arbitrary and
students referred to the school are routinely denied meaningful opportunities
to challenge compulsory assignment to the school.

CEP's administration of schools in other cities has also come under attack.
CEP has run alternative schools in Houston, Philadelphia, Richmond, Orlando
and Florida's Pinnellas and Bay districts through contracts with public school
systems since 1995. In 2005, CEP's annual revenues totaled $70 million. Since
its contract began with AISS in 2002, Atlanta's taxpayers have paid CEP more
than $50 million.

"The driving motivation of private, for-profit educational companies is not to
provide quality education, but rather to make money," said Debbie Seagraves,
Executive Director of the ACLU of Georgia. "And, too often, these companies
are not held accountable. Here in Atlanta, it's the children and taxpayers who
have paid the price."

Classes at Atlanta's public schools begin on August 10.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case include Shuford and I. India Geronimo
of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, Chara Fisher Jackson of the ACLU
Foundation of Georgia, Nancy Abudu of the ACLU Southern Regional Office and
lawyers from the Davis Bozeman Law Firm PC and Covington & Burling LLP.

A copy of the ACLU's 2008 lawsuit is available online at:
www.aclu.org/crimjustice/juv/34423lgl20080311.html

Additional information about the ACLU Racial Justice Program is available
online at: www.aclu.org/racialjustice

Additional information about the ACLU's work to combat the School to Prison
Pipeline is available at: www.aclu.org/stpp

Additional information about the ACLU of Georgia is available online at:
www.acluga.org

SOURCE American Civil Liberties Union

Will Matthews, ACLU, +1-212-549-2582 or 2666, media@aclu.org; Debbie
Seagraves, ACLU of Georgia, +1-770-303-8111, dseagraves@acluga.org