On June 19, 2004 in an article written by Tamar Lewin, "City Resolves Legal Battle Over Forcing Students Out" , Ms. Lewin writes,
"After months of legal skirmishing over New York City's policies regarding older students who have fallen behind, lawsuits charging that three high schools illegally discharged struggling students have been resolved. In the process, a tentatively cooperative relationship has emerged between the Department of Education and Advocates for Children, the group that brought the lawsuits. Judge Weinstein said the cases "exposed a lesion - the alleged 'pushing out' of difficult-to-educate students - that has been festering for many years," all the way back to a case he heard 35 years ago against one of the schools, Franklin K. Lane.

As a practical matter, resolution was reached in all three cases this year, with the Department of Education denying liability but pledging action to ensure that more students are helped toward graduation.

"In addition to the final settlement of the three lawsuits came a new agreement for cooperation between the Department of Education and Advocates for Children, which has considered filing a citywide class-action lawsuit on the issue.

"In a letter dated Wednesday, Michael Best, the Department of Education's general counsel, told Jill Chaifetz, the executive director of Advocates for Children, that the department would provide information the group has requested and collaborate on training school officials on discharge policies. The new relationship, he said, was being made "with the understanding that Advocates for Children is not currently planning to commence citywide litigation on these issues," and would cease if the group filed any more lawsuits.
Since last October, the city has required school officials to counsel students and parents on their legal rights and educational options before any discharge or transfer.

In the letter, the department said it would seek suggestions from Advocates for Children on improving the training manual for those interviews.

The department also agreed to the group's request for reports on how many discharges and transfers there have been citywide in the last two school years, how many school officials have been trained in the new planning interview policies and procedures, and how many such interviews have been conducted.

The Department of Education sent mailings this year to all public school students discharged or transferred to nondiploma programs from July 2, 2003, to Jan. 21, 2004, telling them of their right to return to school."

The E-Accountability Foundation asked Ms. Jill Chaifetz of Advocates For Children on June 22, 2004, what kind of deal was made with the Department of Education, as kids are still being thrown out of high schools throughout the city, and now Advocates has promised not to litigate. Ms. Chaifetz told us that she knows that the Department does not give information, but they have promised to change this. Perhaps the deal was sweetened by Advocates' helping the DOE with the training manual, which sounds to us like a paid consultants' position. We believed all along that the website "Inside Schools.org" was not independent of the Department of Education, and now there is proof of this.

The press release on the Advocates For Children website is misleading, as there is no mention of any 'deal':

ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN
151 West 30th Street, Fifth Floor
New York, New York 10001
Phone: (212) 947-9779
Fax: (212) 947-9790
E-mail: info@advocatesforchildren.org

PRESS RELEASE

Federal Judge Approves Settlement in School Pushout Case involving Bushwick High School.

Contact: Jill Chaifetz, Advocates for Children 212-822-9518 or 646-765-6125
Elisa Hyman, Advocates for Children 212-822-9514 or 917-763-3774
New York City June 18, 2004

On June 17, 2004, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District of New York approved a settlement in RV v. Department of Education, resolving claims by students who claimed that they were pushed out of Bushwick High School in Brooklyn. RV was the final action in a trilogy of push-out cases filed before the Court on behalf of students in New York City public schools who claimed they were being denied their right to attend school. Likening the exclusion of at-risk students to a "lesion "that has been "festering for many years," Judge Weinstein approved the agreement. In his opinion the court recognized that the cases represent the continued struggle of disadvantaged youth to gain equal access to quality education that started with the landmark cases of Brown v. Board of Education.

"We are very satisfied with the settlements and are cautiously optimistic that the Department will continue to take voluntary steps to ensure that students are not excluded from school," stated Elisa Hyman, Deputy Director at Advocates for Children, the non-profit organization that brought all three cases. "We are also pleased that the Court recognized the need to create a school system that is equitable and offers an education to all."

The first suit, Ruiz v. Pedota, had been filed against Franklin K. Lane High School and was settled in February 2004; the second action was filed against Martin Luther King High School. Both actions alleged that students ranging in age from 15 and upward had been forced to leave school despite the fact that New York law guarantees education to all students up to age 21. Judge Weinstein had issued an injunction in a similar lawsuit in 1969, Knight v. Board of Education, when a group of students claimed they were illegally excluded from FKL High School.

Among other things, the settlement in RV creates procedures for the holding of exit conferences for students who are leaving school or entering GED programs. These conferences are designed to ensure that students will not be forced to leave school or be barred from taking classes illegally. The exit conference process includes a requirement that notices will be provided to all students and their parents before they are discharged or transferred from school, which contains information about their right to remain in school until the age of 21. Students who were discharged or transferred from Bushwick High School have the right to come back to school. Summer school will also be offered to them. The settlement also requires training to ensure that staff members responsible for counseling students and overseeing transfers and discharges are adequately informed of student rights. The Court ordered the DOE to report on implementation of the agreement.

Judge Weinstein noted that the recent suits-the 21st century iteration of the problems raised in the Knight case-- were a "fitting reminder" of the fact that the "American struggle for excellence in education goes on" in the wake of the 50th Anniversary of the landmark suit of Brown v. Board of Education. Judge Weinstein stated that the principles set forth in these cases set a standard for the entire city. The court also found that the Department does appear to be struggling to try to address the problem, one that Chancellor Klein has previously acknowledged had been inherited from previous administrations.

After suits were filed claiming the DOE's procedures for discharging students were illegal, the DOE changed its procedures for the City, issuing a revised version in the Spring 2004. Those policies require exit conferences for students who wish to leave schools or transfer to GED programs and clear notice of their right to stay in school until they turn 21. In February 2004, the DOE notified some students that had been discharged and transferred since July 2003 that they had the right to return to school. The DOE also took out a citywide advertisement in a number of papers inviting students who "dropped out of school" or felt that "they were voluntarily urged to leave school" to return. "We hope the Department will stay on the right track to enforce their new procedures, train schools on students' rights and develop more programs to address the needs of over-age and under-credited students, many of whom were vulnerable to being pushed out, so that further litigation is not needed," stated Jill Chaifetz, Executive Director of Advocates for Children. "Schools have an obligation to serve all students, even those who are difficult to educate,"said Chaiftez.

The problem of students being pushed out of school is not unique to NYC. A recent report jointly released by the Harvard Civil Rights Project, the Urban Institute, Advocates for Children and the Civil Society Institute documents that across the country students are being excluded from or encouraged to leave school. That report also documented significant disparities in the graduation rates of minority students. To download a copy go to www.advocatesforchildren.org/pubs/losingOurFutureMainReport.pdf.

For more information please contact Jill Chaifetz at 212-822-9518 or 646-765-6125, or Elisa Hyman at 212-822-9514 or 917-763-3774."

So, what is a parent to do when his/her child is thrown onto the sidewalk by a school principal? Who will be the advocate? Not Advocates For Children, and most probably you wont read about it on "Inside Schools.org", either.