Lawsuit Looming: Atlanta Mother Alleges Local School Segregates Classrooms

By Jean Robor | Saturday, 27 May 2023 01:00 PM
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Lawsuit Looming: Atlanta Mother Alleges Local School Segregates Classrooms

A lawsuit by an Atlanta mom accuses a local school of segregation.

Kila Posey, whose daughter attends Mary Lin Elementary School, filed a complaint against her daughter's school District, and now a federal civil rights office has opened an investigation.

According to RawStory.com, Posey requested a specific teacher for her daughter in 2021. The principal, Sharyn Briscoe, told her the class taught by that teacher was not designated for Black students, indicating that only two other classes were available for her daughter.

Approximately 10% of students at the elementary school are black, as are Posey and Briscoe. In 2021, the school had 600 students and had designated only two of its six second-grade classes for Black students. Unsurprisingly, the school has a higher percentage of white students as it is located in a predominantly white middle-class neighborhood. The issue concerns the administration's handling of allegedly segregating students based on race.

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Before complaining about segregation within the school, Posey operated a business called 'The Club," an afterschool program for several Atlanta public schools. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, once she complained, Posey said Briscoe informed her "via email that she was not renewing my contract. No reason, no anything."

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Posey's husband, Jason, worked as a school psychologist in the Mary Lin school system until she filed her segregation complaint. Afterward, Jason Posey was reassigned to work remotely. Now he works in another school District.

The U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights investigates the school in question as to whether it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The legislation prohibits federal funding for schools that discriminate based on race. The Office for Civil Rights did not provide additional information about Posey's complaint but confirmed it is investigating it.

Posey's children currently attend private school.

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