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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Haymer v. Reeves
Mississippi has repeatedly violated a nearly 150-year-old, legally binding obligation to operate a “uniform system of free public schools” for all children, an obligation placed on the state as a condition of rejoining the Union after the Civil War. Mississippi enshrined this requirement in the education clause of its constitution, which the state ratified in…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Rep. Bryant W. Clark and Sen. John Horhn V. Governor Phil Bryant, Et. Al.
As part of budget cuts across state departments, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant ordered nearly $20 million in funding cut from public schools in February and March of 2017. The SPLC filed a suit, on behalf of two legislators, contending that the governor lacked authority for the action under the state’s constitution. The lawsuit asks the…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Araujo v. Governor Phil Bryant
Mississippi funded its charter schools through an unconstitutional scheme that diverted public tax dollars from traditional public schools. The SPLC filed a lawsuit in state court to end the funding system. The lawsuit called for the court to strike down the funding provisions of the Mississippi Charter School Act (CSA). The Mississippi Constitution required schools…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Nehemy Antoine (formerly Lesly Methelus), et al. v. The District School Board of Collier County, Florida, et al.
Officials with Florida’s Collier County schools effectively barred immigrant children with limited English skills from enrolling in high school and pushed them into an adult English program that offered no opportunity to earn credit toward a high school diploma – a violation of state and federal laws. The SPLC filed a federal class action lawsuit…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
C.M., et al., v. Robert J. Bentley, M.D.; et al.
Alabama Accountability Act case An Alabama law gave tax breaks to families transferring their children to successful schools, discriminating against impoverished students in the state’s Black Belt region who were trapped in failing schools. The Alabama Accountability Act was passed by state officials promising it would benefit students regardless of their family income or where…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
E.H. v. Mississippi Department of Education
Almost two years after finding that Mississippi’s Jackson Public School District violated federal special education law, the Mississippi Department of Education had failed to hold the district accountable and ensure that its students with disabilities were receiving services mandated by federal law. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class action lawsuit in 2012…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Wendy Ruiz, et al. v. Gerard Robinson, et al.
Florida Tuition The state of Florida denied in-state college tuition rates to U.S. citizens living in the state but unable to prove the lawful immigration status of their parents – an unconstitutional policy that more than tripled the cost of tuition. SPLC filed a federal lawsuit that ended the practice. The lawsuit charged that these…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
HICA, et al. v Robert Bentley, Luther Strange, et al.
Alabama Immigration Alabama passed an extreme anti-immigrant law in June 2011. The law, commonly known as HB 56, threatened to chill children’s access to public schools by requiring school officials to verify the immigration status of children and their parents; authorized police to demand “papers” demonstrating citizenship or immigration status during traffic stops; and criminalized…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
M.R., et al. v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County (Ala.), et al.
The public school system of Mobile County, Ala., violated the constitutional rights of students by suspending them for months at a time over minor misbehavior without giving parents and guardians an opportunity to defend them. The SPLC filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of six students suspended for apparent minor misbehavior such as un-tucked shirts,…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Durham Public Schools
Latino students in Durham, N.C, public schools were subjected to pervasive discrimination throughout the school district. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on behalf of these students. The SPLC eventually reached an agreement with Durham Public Schools to end the discriminatory practices.…
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