ST. LOUIS 鈥 Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has sent cease-and-desist letters to two more St. 不良研究所导航网址-area school districts 鈥 warning against 鈥渄iscriminatory practices鈥 within the districts.
In one letter, Bailey claims the Parkway School District has prohibited students from forming religious-based clubs, namely Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or prevented them from using school resources and holding meetings on campus.
In a second, Bailey accuses the Lindbergh School District of implementing 鈥渞ace-based criteria鈥 for the district鈥檚 gifted program by allowing students from underrepresented racial or ethnic populations to enter gifted programs even if they score lower on tests than typically required.
鈥淚f these reports are true, Lindbergh School District is discriminating on the basis of race, in direct violation of both state and federal law,鈥 Bailey writes.
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Bailey sent a letter last Wednesday to the Webster Groves School District, ordering it to drop its goal of increasing staff diversity. And he sent one on Thursday to the Wentzville School District, claiming the district retaliated against school board members who helped Bailey build a case alleging open records law violations.
Three of the districts 鈥 Parkway, Lindbergh and Webster Groves 鈥 have refuted Bailey鈥檚 allegations of religious or racial discrimination, calling the claims 鈥渦nfounded鈥 or 鈥渘ot based in fact.鈥 Wentzville declined to comment.
Bailey鈥檚 letter to Lindbergh said the district traditionally admitted gifted students scoring in the 95th national percentile on at least one screener or standardized test, such as math or reading, and at least in the 84th percentile on another.
But Bailey alleged the district allowed underrepresented students into its gifted program if they scored much lower 鈥 in the 84th percentile on one standardized test and in the 50th percentile on another test.
On Monday, Lindbergh administrators blasted Bailey鈥檚 letter, which they described as 鈥減olitically motivated鈥 and 鈥渘ot based in fact.鈥
鈥淭his letter appears to be based on a misunderstanding of the program,鈥 district officials said in a statement.
Lindbergh鈥檚 honors program, called LEAP, complies with all state and federal requirements, they said. And contrary to what鈥檚 implied in the attorney general鈥檚 notice to Superintendent Tony Lake, 10% of Lindbergh students qualify for gifted programs, which is more than double than the national average.
鈥淭he attorney general does not have any legal grounds for his objection to Lindbergh Schools鈥 procedures to identify students for gifted education services, and we are deeply disappointed that he did not reach out to us first to obtain accurate information before posturing on social media with a statement that is not grounded in facts,鈥 Lindbergh鈥檚 statement reads.
鈥淲e will provide an informational response to the attorney general in the near future.鈥
In the letter to Parkway, Bailey claims his office received reports that the district prohibited religious-based clubs from using a campus announcement system, hanging posters or holding meetings on campus.
Parkway called the accusations unfounded.
Parkway has several active and long-standing faith-based clubs, including Fellowship of Christian Athlete clubs at each of Parkway鈥檚 four high schools. High school students also participate in the Jewish Student Union, Muslim Student Union and Catholic Faith Club.
鈥淲e know when students have activities that are meaningful to them personally and create a sense of belonging, they are more successful at school,鈥 district officials said in a statement. 鈥淧arkway is committed to supporting the diversity of religions represented in our student bodies and providing clubs and activities to support their interests and needs.鈥
Bailey鈥檚 warnings to Lindbergh and Parkway were both sent on Thursday 鈥 the same day Bailey sent the letter to Wentzville.
In that letter, Bailey claimed Wentzville School Board members and administrators retaliated against three school board members who assisted Bailey in his suit against the district over alleged open records law violations. Bailey to 鈥渢read lightly.鈥
And the day before, Bailey told Webster Groves School District to drop its goal of increasing its number of staff members of color, saying the district instituted 鈥渞ace-based鈥 criteria for employees and applicants.
The district鈥檚 three-year strategic plan calls for 鈥渋ncreasing the number of qualified applicants of color and increasing our number and percentage in hiring staff of color.鈥
Webster Groves spokesperson Derek Duncan called Bailey鈥檚 letter 鈥渞idiculous.鈥
鈥淭here is nothing wrong with the state goal, and it is certainly not unlawful race-based hiring,鈥 Duncan said in a statement then.