superior court of fulton county - american … harris, a minor, by and through christopher harris...
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SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA
MELVIN HARRIS, a minor, by and through
CHRISTOPHER HARRIS and DEBBIE HILL, his parents; QUARTEZ GOODMAN, a minor, by and through COKETHIA GOODMAN, his mother; MONTAVIOUS HOUSTON, a minor, by and through JOYCE HOUSTON, his legal guardian; DEVQUAN JONES, a minor, by and through JACQUELYN JONES, his mother; TERRANCE PARKS, a minor, by and through SANQUITA PARKS, his mother; JATOYA RUFF, a minor, by and through ANTOINETTE RUFF, her mother; REGINALD WEEMS, a minor, by and through ALGERNON WEEMS, his legal guardian; TERRY PATRICK WELCH, a minor, by and through PATTI WELCH, his mother; and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v. ATLANTA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL SYSTEM;
CITY OF ATLANTA BOARD OF EDUCATION; BEVERLY L. HALL, in her official capacity as Atlanta School Superintendent; and COMMUNITY EDUCATION PARTNERS, INC.,
Defendants.
CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. _____
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §§ 9-4-2, 9-5-1, and 23-1-1, the Plaintiffs and each of them, for
their claims against Defendants, and each of them, state and allege as follows:
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NATURE OF THIS ACTION
1. The Atlanta Independent School System (“AISS”) has contracted with
Community Education Partners (“CEP”) to run an alternative school (“the AISS-CEP School”).
The school — which is privately run but publicly accountable to the school district — does not
function as a school at all, but rather as a warehouse for poor children of color. Academics at the
school are virtually non-existent and students are inadequately supervised. Violence is rampant.
The school’s motto reflects its priorities: “Be Here, Behave, Be Learning.”
2. This is a civil rights class action brought pursuant to Article I, Section I,
Paragraphs I and XIII, and Article VIII, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution; the Fourth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; and the terms of the contract between
AISS and CEP, on behalf of all students currently enrolled or who will be enrolled in the AISS-
CEP School. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendants AISS, the
Atlanta Board of Education, Beverly L. Hall, and CEP to prevent violations of Plaintiffs’ legal
rights and to remedy Defendants’ continuing failure to provide Plaintiffs with a constitutionally
adequate education, with appropriate due process and Fourth Amendment protections, and with
the services called for in the contract between AISS and CEP.
3. The Georgia Constitution guarantees a right to an adequate public education,
creating a property interest that cannot be taken away without due process of law. AISS
Defendants are obligated to provide an adequate education and may do so directly or via contract
with another party. In assuming the contract, CEP Defendants are accountable not only under
the terms of the contractual delegation, but also as state actors.
4. The relief Plaintiffs seek is supported by satisfactory proofs, including the public
records, facts and other documentation referenced throughout the Complaint.
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PARTIES
5. The Plaintiffs are as follows:
a. Plaintiff QUARTEZ GOODMAN is a 17 year old enrolled in the 8th
grade at the AISS-CEP School. After a series of suspensions at his regular school,
Quartez was referred to the AISS-CEP School and has been at the school for 3 years.
Although he received good grades prior to being referred to the school, he was forced to
repeat the 8th grade three times at the AISS-CEP School. He finally stopped attending
the school in September 2007 because of its chaotic environment and lack of educational
opportunity. If conditions at the school were fixed, he would gladly return. He appears
in this action by and through his mother, Cokethia Goodman.
b. Plaintiff MELVIN HARRIS is 14 years old and is enrolled in the 6th
grade at the AISS-CEP School. Melvin was a good student at his regular school, but in
2006 he was referred to the AISS-CEP School for cutting classes and misbehaving.
Although he was released in 2007, he was subsequently referred to the AISS-CEP School
a second time, and did not receive a hearing or other opportunity to be heard that time.
He has since repeated the sixth grade twice, has been the victim of violence at the school,
and is subjected to unreasonable searches each day he attends. Earlier this school year,
Melvin received a de facto 10-day suspension without proper notice or opportunity to be
heard when his parents were not permitted to timely re-enroll him after a 9-day
suspension. More recently, Melvin received a 3-day “bus suspension” along with all of
the other boys on his bus route with no opportunity to be heard. Because his family does
not own a car and cannot afford bus fare, the bus suspension effectively imposed an out-
of-school suspension. He appears in this action by and through his parents, Christopher
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Harris and Debbie Hill.
c. Plaintiff MONTAVIOUS HOUSTON is 14 years old and enrolled in the
8th grade at the AISS-CEP School. He was on the football and basketball teams at his
regular school and got good grades. He was referred to the school via a tribunal hearing
on or around November 19, 2007, but his great grandmother was told not to enroll him
until after the Thanksgiving holiday. On or around November 23, he was placed in
juvenile detention. Upon his release, on or around December 17, his great grandmother
was told that he could not be enrolled until after January 10. After the 10th, his great
grandmother was told that because orientation was full, he would have to wait until
January 22 and that no alternative arrangements were possible. Montavious ultimately
missed roughly two months of school. Since he has been at the AISS-CEP School, he has
suffered from the lack of educational opportunity, chaotic environment, and unreasonable
search procedures at the school. He appears in this action by and through his great
grandmother, Joyce Houston, who is also his legal guardian.
d. Plaintiff DEVQUAN JONES is a 16 year old 10th grader at the AISS-CEP
School. Devquan and his family moved to Atlanta in August 2007 from Blakely,
Georgia, where he attended regular school, got Bs and Cs, had never been left back or
received an out-of-school suspension, and was on the football team. His mother was
prevented from enrolling him in his neighborhood school in Atlanta by a series of
bureaucratic delays and requirements imposed by the Atlanta Board of Education.
Devquan was denied a public education for a month as she attempted to get him into
school. In September 2007, Devquan’s mother was informed that because he had missed
so many days of school, he would have to enroll at the AISS-CEP School. Devquan
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never received a hearing or any other opportunity to challenge that assignment. Since
attending the AISS-CEP School, Devquan’s academic performance has deteriorated and
he has been subject to unreasonable search practices. He also suffered an unprovoked
physical attack by a security guard, who slammed his head into a wall. His mother, who
was not notified by the school of the injury, was forced to take him to the hospital. He
appears in this action by and through his mother, Jacquelyn Jones.
e. Plaintiff TERRANCE PARKS is 15 years old and enrolled in the 8th
grade at the AISS-CEP School. He was referred to the school for an alleged violation of
a “student contract” that waived his right to a hearing prior to referral. No hearing was
ever held regarding the underlying contract violation or the referral to the AISS-CEP
School. Because orientation for the school takes place only on Mondays, Terrance was
out of school for a week. Terrance was subsequently arrested and handcuffed at the
school for possession of marijuana, which was found underneath the insole of sneakers he
had borrowed from a friend. He was placed in juvenile detention for 2 days and received
a 9 day out-of-school suspension. Although he ultimately received a tribunal hearing to
decide whether he would be expelled for the remainder of the year, he received no
opportunity to be heard prior to the 9 day suspension. Terrance also recently received a 3
day out-of-school suspension that was summarily imposed upon his entire class because
one student misbehaved. He appears in this action by and through his mother, Sanquita
Parks.
f. Plaintiff JATOYA RUFF is a 15 year old enrolled in the 8th grade at the
AISS-CEP School. After a brief stay in juvenile detention following an argument with
her mother, JaToya was informed by her regular school that she was criminally
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trespassing and would have to enroll at the AISS-CEP School. JaToya has not attended
the school since September 2007 because she is afraid of the unsafe conditions. She is
currently on leave from school because she recently gave birth, but she has not officially
withdrawn from the school and if she were to return to the educational system, she would
attend the AISS-CEP School. She appears in this action by and through her mother,
Antoinette Ruff.
g. Plaintiff REGINALD WEEMS is 15 years old and enrolled in the 8th
grade at the AISS-CEP School. He played football at his regular school and received
average grades. When he moved with his family from Decatur to Atlanta in March 2007,
he was summarily referred to the school without a hearing or other opportunity to be
heard, along with two of his siblings. Reginald had been unable to attend regular school
the previous month because of a series of deaths in his family and lack of money for
transportation. He was unable to enroll at the AISS-CEP School until May 2007, because
administrators said the school was full. In the fall of 2007, Reginald was arrested and
held for a month in juvenile detention. Although the charges were dismissed, his
grandmother was told he could not re-enroll at the AISS-CEP School until after the
holidays. In the beginning of January 2008, she was told he could not enroll until
January 22, because the school was full. On January 22, Reginald was not picked up by
the school bus and his grandmother was told he would have to wait until January 29.
Reginald missed at least 2 months of school. He appears in this action by and through his
grandmother, Algernon Weems, who is also his legal guardian.
h. Plaintiff TERRY PATRICK WELCH is 15 years old and a 10th grader at
the AISS-CEP School. He was referred to an alternative school in Douglasville for
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fighting, and his mother waived his right to a hearing because she was informed that if
she did not do so, her son would be expelled. After moving to Atlanta from Douglasville,
his mother attempted to enroll Terry in a regular school, but was told that he was required
to attend the AISS-CEP School because he had previously attended an alternative school.
Since then, Terry’s grades have dropped significantly, he has suffered from the violent
and chaotic environment at the school, and he has been subject to unreasonable search
practices. He has also received out-of-school suspensions without any notice or
opportunity to be heard. He appears in this action by and through his mother, Patti
Welch.
6. The defendants are as follows:
a. Defendant ATLANTA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL SYSTEM is charged
with establishing and maintaining the public schools by which the guarantees of Article
VIII, Section I, are to be met. The AISS-CEP School is one of the public schools under
the control and supervision of Defendant AISS.
b. Defendant CITY OF ATLANTA BOARD OF EDUCATION — which
consists of Brenda Muhammad, Khaatim Sherrer El, Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, Kathleen
Pattillo, LaChandra Butler Burks, Yolanda Johnson, Eric Wilson, Mark Riley, and
Emmett Johnson — is also charged with establishing and maintaining the public schools
in Atlanta by which the guarantees of Article VIII, Section I, are to be met. The AISS-
CEP School is one of the public schools under the control and supervision of Defendant
City of Atlanta Board of Education.
c. Defendant BEVERLY L. HALL is the Atlanta School Superintendent and
is sued in her official capacity. She is a resident of Atlanta, Georgia. She is appointed by
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the Atlanta Board of Education pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101 and is responsible for
ensuring that schools in her district operate in compliance with the law. The AISS-CEP
School is one of the public schools under the control and supervision of Defendant Hall.
Defendant Hall is a signatory to the AISS-CEP Contract on behalf of AISS and is a final
policymaker for AISS.
d. Defendants Atlanta Independent School System, City of Atlanta Board of
Education, and Beverly L. Hall are referred to collectively as “AISS Defendants.”
e. Defendant COMMUNITY EDUCATION PARTNERS, INC. is a for-
profit entity incorporated under Delaware law, doing business in Atlanta, Georgia, whose
principal office is at 2636 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214. Its registered agent in
Georgia is the C T Corporation System, at 1201 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, GA
30361. It has contracted with AISS to provide educational services for children referred
to alternative school in the Atlanta school district in exchange for $6.975 million a year.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
7. This case arises under the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia. This
Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to Article VI, § 1, ¶ 4 of the Georgia Constitution
and O.C.G.A. §§ 9-4-2, 23-1-1 and 23-3-1, which provide that the Court may issue declaratory
and equitable relief.
8. Venue in this County is appropriate under Art. VI, § 2, ¶¶ 3 and 6 of the Georgia
Constitution and under O.C.G.A. § 9-10-30, because this is a suit in equity for declaratory and
injunctive relief and because a majority of the defendants against whom substantial equitable
relief is prayed reside in this County.
9. Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law or access to any comprehensive
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administrative scheme that would adequately redress the grievances they bring in this complaint.
LAWSUIT PROPERLY MAINTAINED AS A CLASS ACTION
10. Plaintiffs bring this action as a class action pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23.
11. The proposed class to be maintained in this action consists of all children
currently enrolled or who will be enrolled in the future at the AISS-CEP School. The
representatives of this class are Melvin Harris, Quartez Goodman, Montavious Houston,
Devquan Jones, Terrance Parks, JaToya Ruff, Reginald Weems, and Terry Patrick Welch.
12. The Plaintiff Class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impractical. At
any point in time, hundreds of students are enrolled at the AISS-CEP School.
13. There are questions of law and fact common to the members of the Plaintiff Class,
including, but not limited to:
a. Whether Defendants have an obligation to ensure that members of the
Plaintiff Class receive an adequate public education;
b. Whether Defendants’ policies and practices have resulted in the referral
and discipline of members of the Plaintiff Class to the AISS-CEP School without due
process;
c. Whether Defendants’ policies and practices of subjecting all students to
intrusive daily searches without individualized suspicion is unreasonable.
14. The claims of the Plaintiff Class representatives are typical of claims of the
putative class members and, by pursuing their own interests, the class representatives will
advance the interests of the absent class members.
15. The Plaintiff Class representatives will fairly and adequately protect the interests
of the class. There are no conflicts of interest between the class representatives and absent class
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members with respect to the matters at issue in this litigation; the class representatives will
vigorously prosecute the suit on behalf of the class; and the class representatives are represented
by experienced counsel. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys employed by the American Civil
Liberties Union (“ACLU”), the ACLU of Georgia, and the ACLU Southern Regional Office,
nonprofit legal organizations whose attorneys have substantial experience and expertise in civil
rights and education reform matters.
16. Defendants have acted or failed to act on grounds generally applicable to all
Plaintiffs, necessitating declaratory and injunctive relief for the Class.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
I. Legal and Statutory Framework
17. Article VIII, Section I of the Georgia Constitution imposes on AISS Defendants
an obligation to provide every member of the Plaintiff class with an “adequate public education.”
The General Assembly of the State of Georgia has declared that it is the policy of this state to
assure that each school-age child in Georgia has access to quality instruction designed to support
student development of essential competencies in order that students may realize their potential.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-131. With respect to alternative schools, the General Assembly has
specifically required that an environment be provided where students can stay in school and
acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for a productive life. Id.
18. Pursuant to Georgia law, an adequate public education must include: a safe
learning environment, a sufficient number of teachers and support staff, appropriate classroom
instruction and resources, appropriate support services, and basic record-keeping. See O.C.G.A.
§§ 20-2-131; 2-2-140 to 148; 2-2-735(c); & 2-2-737 to 738. See also GBOE Rule 160-4-8-.12.
19. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I,
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Section I, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution provide that no person may be deprived of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law.
20. Plaintiffs have a property interest in the adequate public education guaranteed to
them by the Georgia Constitution and may not be deprived of their right to such an education
without due process of law.
21. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section I,
Paragraph XIII of the Georgia Constitution protect Plaintiffs from unreasonable searches.
22. The AISS-CEP Contract requires CEP to operate the AISS-CEP School in
compliance with all applicable federal and state constitutional requirements and federal, state and
local laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations, and AISS policies and procedures.
II. AISS-CEP School Background
23. The AISS-CEP School is an Atlanta public alternative school located at 2930
Forrest Hills Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30315, with an enrollment over the course of 2006-07 of
approximately 844 students. It serves both middle school and high school students, and has been
open since 2002.
24. Georgia law requires local school systems to provide an alternative education
program for disruptive students and notes that such programs “are intended to meet the education
needs of a student who is suspended from his or her regular classroom and also of a student who
is eligible to remain in his or her regular classroom but is more likely to succeed in a
nontraditional setting such as that provided in an alternative education program.” O.C.G.A. §
20-2-154.1. The instruction provided in such programs “shall enable students to return to a
general or career education program as quickly as possible.” Id.
25. The AISS-CEP School has an obligation to help students who were struggling in
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their regular schools to catch up academically and behaviorally with the goal of returning them
to the regular school system. Its failure to deliver on this obligation has transformed it into a
dumping ground for unwanted students.
26. Other alternative schools in the Atlanta metropolitan area serving similar student
populations include the McClarin Alternative School in Fulton County and the DeKalb
Alternative School in DeKalb County.
27. Prior to contracting with CEP, AISS operated several alternative programs for
students with behavioral and disciplinary problems: the Burger King Academy, the Opportunity
Center, the Therrell Academy, the Harper-Archer Academy, and the Phoenix Program. AISS
Defendants consolidated these programs into one school, and in 2002 granted CEP Defendants
the contract to run that school.
28. AISS entered into a First Amended and Restated Agreement with CEP on August
29, 2003; a Second Amended and Restated Agreement on September 3, 2004; and a Third
Amended and Restated Agreement on July 1, 2006 (“the AISS-CEP Contract”).
29. With these contracts — and at a cost to Atlanta taxpayers of $36,570,941 between
November 2002 and June 2007 — AISS delegated to CEP its obligation under Georgia law to
provide Atlanta schoolchildren with an adequate public education, and CEP accepted that
obligation.
30. The AISS-CEP Contract provides for base compensation of $6,975,000 for each
school year for an enrollment of up to 750 students. Additional students may be enrolled at
$51.67 per additional student per day. The contract requires AISS to use reasonable efforts to
enroll 750 students in the AISS-CEP School at all times. The contract also provides for payment
of an $89,000 “incentive fee” upon the attainment of enumerated performance goals.
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31. In exchange for this compensation, CEP Defendants agreed to provide a safe
learning environment, a sufficient number of teachers and support staff, appropriate classroom
instruction and necessary resources, appropriate support services, and basic record-keeping.
III. Plaintiffs are denied an adequate public education at the AISS-CEP School.
A. Some students are denied an education altogether for months at a time.
32. Defendants have an intentional policy and practice of referring students to the
AISS-CEP School but refusing to permit them to attend the school. Parents are sometimes told
they must wait until after “the holidays” have passed to register their children, even if their
children were referred in November. Parents are also sometimes told they cannot register their
children with the school because orientation sessions are full. No alternatives are made available
to these parents and their children, who receive no educational services whatsoever for months at
a time.
33. Upon information and belief, the wholesale denial of educational services has
taken place even when fewer than the 750 students contemplated by the AISS-CEP Contract are
enrolled at the school.
B. Violence at the AISS-CEP School exceeds any conceivably acceptable level.
34. The provision of an adequate education requires the provision of a safe education.
Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-8-.16 defines a persistently dangerous school as one in
which, during each of three consecutive years, at least two percent of the student population or
ten students (whichever is greater) are found by official action to have committed an offense in
violation of a school rule that involved drugs, felony weapons, or terroristic threats.
35. Although the AISS-CEP School is exempt from the Unsafe School Choice Option
provided by Georgia, it meets the definition of a persistently dangerous school, reporting 22
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qualifying offenses in 2005, 24 in 2006, and 12 in 2007. None of the other alternative schools in
the area serving similarly situated students would so qualify.
36. In addition to the most serious offenses that make the AISS-CEP School
persistently dangerous, the 2006 Georgia Department of Education Discipline Incident School
Summary Report lists 176 reported incidents of battery, 189 of fighting, 41 of threat or
intimidation, 79 of vandalism, 5 of knife possession, and 2 of firearm possession, as well as
1,202 other discipline incidents. The school had a reported enrollment of 415 students that year.
37. In 2006, the AISS-CEP School made 274 delinquency referrals to the Fulton
County Juvenile Court, or about two referrals for every three students. In contrast, the McClarin
School (with a student enrollment of 242) made 64 such referrals, or about two referrals per eight
students.
38. Of the 90 schools in the Atlanta Public Schools district reporting statistics to the
Georgia Department of Education (“GDOE”) in 2006, the AISS-CEP School alone accounted for
67.7% of all reported incidents of battery, 46% of all reported incidents of vandalism, and 20%
of all reported incidents of gun possession.
39. In 2006, the number of offenses per 100 students for the Atlanta Public School
system as a whole was 51.6. The rate for the AISS-CEP School was eight times higher, at 416.9.
The rate was 141.8 at the DeKalb Alternative School, and only 9.9 at the McClarin School.
40. The 2007 GDOE report for the AISS-CEP School lists a dramatically reduced
number of incidents: 5 incidents of battery, 3 of disorderly conduct, 28 of fighting, 4 of threat or
intimidation, and 63 other discipline incidents. Upon information and belief, Defendants did not
actually reduce levels of violence, but instead simply reported fewer incidents.
41. Other AISS data for that year show that 165 students received out-of-school
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suspensions in 2006-07, 93 students were suspended for 10 or more days, and 169 were
disciplined for crime/violence. The same data list 4 out-of-school suspensions for arson, 13 for
battery, 6 for disorderly conduct, 14 for fighting, 2 for threat/intimidation/assault, and 3 for
“weapons-knife.”
42. None of these reports reflects the violence inflicted upon students by teachers and
administrators. Teachers (and at least one administrator) routinely hit students, throw books, and
throw students against walls or to the floor. Nor do these reports reflect the violence inflicted by
school resource officers and police officers. Such officers are often physically aggressive, and
have a practice of using chokeholds on the students.
43. Georgia law requires that disruptive students assigned to alternative education
programs be separated from non-disruptive students, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-154.1, and that students
victimized by other students be permitted to transfer to another school within 10 school days of
the violent criminal offense, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 160-4-8.16(2)(d). Defendants are in
violation of both requirements. As a result, the many non-violent students who are victimized by
other students at the AISS-CEP School must face their attackers every day.
C. The AISS-CEP School does not have a sufficient number of teachers and
necessary support staff.
44. The provision of an adequate public education requires that schools have a
sufficient number of qualified teachers and necessary support staff. The Georgia Department of
Education (“DOE”) recommends a maximum student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1 for alternative
education programs. The average across the entire Atlanta Public School System, which serves
children without any behavioral or other special needs, is 14:1.
45. The AISS-CEP School is not staffed with a sufficient number of qualified
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teachers or paraprofessionals. There are no tutors on staff. According to the 2006-07 State of
Georgia K-12 Report Card for the AISS-CEP School, the overall ratio of students to teachers was
roughly 20:1 that year, with only one full-time support person on staff. The teacher-to-support
person ratio was 11:1. Support personnel are defined to include special education personnel,
student services personnel, paraprofessional/teacher aides, librarians, teacher support specialists,
and lunchroom monitors.
46. While these figures indicate a comparatively low number of teachers per student
and an insufficient number of support staff, the AISS-CEP School possesses an abundance of
administrators, with a teacher-to-administrator ratio of 3:1.
47. Other alternative schools in the area serving similarly situated populations have
more teachers and support staff, and fewer administrators. At the DeKalb Alternative School,
the teacher-to-student ratio in 2006-07 was 1:7, the teacher-to-support person ratio was 7:1, and
the teacher-to-administrator ratio was 9:1. At the McClarin Alternative School in Fulton County
that year, the teacher-to-student ratio was 1:12, the teacher-to-support person ratio was 5:1, and
the teacher-to-administrator ratio was 8:1. Support personnel represent only 6.3% of staff at the
AISS-CEP School, but 16% at McClarin, and 11.5% at DeKalb.
48. Those other alternative schools also spend far more than the AISS-CEP School
does on teacher salaries, and allocate less money in their budgets to administrator salaries. For
example, in 2006-07, the McClarin School spent nearly twice as much as the AISS-CEP School
on teacher salaries and nearly $95,000 less than the AISS-CEP School on administrator salaries
for a smaller student enrollment.
49. Due to the lack of teachers, class sizes at the AISS-CEP School exceed those
permitted by the State Board of Education, which limits class sizes as of the 2007-08 school year
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to 18 students at an alternative program without a paraprofessional.
50. Teachers at the AISS-CEP school are largely inexperienced, averaging just 0.94
years of experience as of 2006-07. By contrast, teachers at the McClarin Alternative School
averaged 19.07 years of experience and teachers at the DeKalb Alternative School averaged
10.58 years.
D. The AISS-CEP School provides little or no classroom instruction or
resources necessary for teaching and learning.
51. Georgia law requires that alternative education programs include objectives of
the Quality Core Curriculum and provide instruction that enables students to return to regular
education as soon as possible. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-154.1. Georgia DOE Rule 160-4-8-.12
additionally requires that course credit be earned in the same manner as in other education
programs. And the Georgia DOE’s alternative education program guidelines further require that
the instructional materials provided be the same as as those supplied in the regular school
program.
52. Students at the AISS-CEP School spend the majority of their time in class filling
out worksheets without teaching, supervision, or feedback. It is the rare teacher who provides
actual lessons, in which information is conveyed by teachers to students. There is functionally
no curriculum. Class times vary, but many are short even by alternative school standards.
53. Students from as many as three different grades are often combined, all working
on the same worksheets.
54. It is the school’s policy not to assign homework. Students are not permitted to
take books home, or to bring school supplies to and from school. Many teachers simply sit in
their classrooms, sometimes on a cell phone or computer, while students fill out worksheets.
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Most teachers do not return completed worksheets to students or provide other feedback.
55. AISS-CEP School staff conducts no individualized review of student records to
address students’ specific needs or develop individualized academic plans. Students who
struggle academically receive no guidance. Students who are not struggling quickly become
bored.
56. To the extent tests are administered, preparation is nearly impossible because
students cannot take their textbooks home. The rule against homework and the ban on taking
school materials home deprive students of the opportunity to develop good study habits.
57. Defendants have failed to ensure that students have the materials necessary for
learning. Many textbooks at the school are missing pages or otherwise damaged. Some
teachers never hand out textbooks. There are no supplementary materials or teaching aids.
There is no library.
58. Students at the AISS-CEP School have no extracurricular activities, or art, music,
and physical education classes. Instead, students are randomly and periodically released into the
schoolyard with no meaningful supervision.
E. The AISS-CEP School relies inappropriately on the Programmed Logic for
Automated Teaching Operation (“PLATO”) Program.
59. Rather than providing classroom instruction and benchmarking student
achievement with the standardized tests used in other Georgia schools, Defendants rely heavily
on computer programs marketed by a company called PLATO for assessment and instruction.
60. PLATO’s own manuals recommend active guidance of students using the
programs and studies have shown the programs to be of limited value without adequate staff
training and supervision.
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61. Defendants fail to provide the supervision necessary for PLATO to be effective or
its test results accurate. Students work with minimal supervision and often ask each other for the
correct answers to reach the next level of questions. Many students do not work on the programs
at all, but rather play computer games.
62. Sometimes there are not enough computers for all the students. Those without
computers sit at empty desks.
F. The AISS-CEP School fails to provide students with the support services to
which they are entitled.
63. The provision of an adequate public education requires that certain support
services be available. Georgia law requires alternative education programs to provide
appropriate supervision and counseling. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-154.1; GBOE Rule 160-4-8-.12.
Georgia DOE guidelines also note that such programs should customize intervention programs
and support services to meet the needs of individual students.
64. Defendants have failed to ensure that the AISS-CEP School provides access to the
services students need. Students lack adequate access to guidance counselors, psychologists,
social workers, and career counselors.
65. Students who struggle academically or have behavioral issues, i.e., the majority of
those enrolled at the AISS-CEP School, are supposed to receive support from student support
teams (“SST”). Of 127 students represented by the Fulton County Juvenile Court Educational
Advocate between August 2004 and August 2007, 60 had never had an SST intervention.
66. Students with personal, home, school, or community adjustment issues lack
access to a social worker. Although the school currently has one social worker/therapist on staff,
20
the vast majority of students with such issues receive no services at all.
67. Defendants have failed to offer appropriate social/discipline skills instruction or a
discipline management and behavioral development program to students at the AISS-CEP
School. Although the school does offer an anger management class to some students, it is only
20 minutes long, is offered only once a week, and attendance is optional.
G. Record-keeping at the AISS-CEP School is so lax that the school cannot
provide an adequate public education.
68. Basic record-keeping is essential to the provision of adequate educational
services. GBOE Rule 160-4-8-.12 requires school systems to maintain records on enrollment,
disciplinary referrals, grades, pass rates, and entry/exit dates.
69. Defendants have failed to maintain these records accurately. Attendance records
often fail to reflect the extent to which students are truant. The course list does not accurately
reflect the educational opportunities actually available. Grades are given out haphazardly.
H. Although Defendants have long been on notice about the failure of the AISS-
CEP School to provide an adequate public education, they have done nothing to
improve the quality of the education provided.
70. AISS Defendants were well aware of the possibility that the AISS-CEP School
would be nothing more than a dumping ground for unwanted children before they ever signed
the contract.
71. Between 2004 and 2006, AISS Defendants were aware or should have been aware
of the AISS-CEP School’s failure to provide an adequate education. For example, a series of
articles in the Atlanta Voice in September-November 2004 highlighted problems at the school,
21
and included an acknowledgement by the then-principal that students did not receive homework
or books to take home as a matter of school policy.
72. Nevertheless, on July 1, 2006, AISS Defendants renewed the contract with CEP
Defendants for another three years, until June 30, 2009, with terms that renew the contract for
five years at a time.
73. The AISS-CEP School moved to a new building in the fall of 2007, but the
educational services provided remain grossly inadequate.
74. Defendants have failed to take any actions to lift the school out of its designation
as in need of “school improvement” and “corrective action.”
75. After 2002-03, the first year the school failed to make Annual Yearly Progress
(“AYP”), school administrators failed to develop a school plan incorporating strategies based in
scientific research or to adopt policies promoting achievement by designated subgroups, as
required by law. 20 U.S.C. § 6312(b); see also Ga. Comp. R & Regs. 160-7-1-.04(2).
76. In 2003-04, although the school was identified as in need of “school
improvement,” Defendants failed to inform parents of developments over the course of the
school improvement process, about the reasons for identification for corrective action, how
parents might help, details concerning the transfer option, and instructions on how to obtain
supplemental educational services. 34 C.F.R. § 200.37.
77. Defendants did not provide students with the option of transferring to a non-
failing school, much less offer that option first to the lowest-achieving children from low-income
families, as federal law requires. Nor did they provide required supplemental services.
78. To this day, parents remain uninformed about the need for corrective action, about
22
remedial steps the school has taken, and about their children’s right to transfer or supplemental
services.
79. Although, in 2004-05, the school was designated as in need of “corrective action,”
Defendants failed to take the remedial steps required by law, e.g., replacing school staff relevant
to the failure, implementing a new curriculum, decreasing authority at the local level, appointing
an outside expert, extending the school year or day, or restructuring the school. 20 U.S.C. §
6316.
80. The 2006 GDOE AYP Report for the AISS-CEP School identifies it as in Needs
Improvement Year Three. Although the report indicates that the school offers school choice and
supplemental educational services and has developed and implemented a corrective action plan,
none of these things has actually occurred, and the report provides no evidence of specific
actions taken to address the school’s repeated failure to make AYP.
IV. Plaintiffs are subjected to daily violations of their Fourth Amendment rights.
81. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section I,
Paragraph XIII of the Georgia Constitution protect children in school from unreasonable
searches.
82. In a typical search, students must remove their shoes (which are themselves
searched), turn their pockets inside out into “bunny ears,” walk through a metal detector, and
submit to a pat-down that includes the soles of their feet and sometimes requires them to be
spread-eagled against a wall. All students must also lift their shirts up to their necks, exposing
their stomachs and, for girls, their bras. Students who set off the metal detector must submit to a
pat-down underneath their shirts.
23
83. Female students are subjected to the further indignity of having their scalps patted
down and of being prohibited from bringing in feminine hygiene products. Menstruating girls
must ask their teachers for sanitary pads.
84. Watches, jewelry and purses are not permitted. Students are allowed to bring
money to school, but not more than five dollars. Items deemed “contraband” by the Student
Search Procedures protocol include book bags, combs, brushes, and house keys. The school also
coordinates random searches of the building by police dogs.
85. The search process is so lengthy that although students arrive at the school at 9
a.m., classes do not start until 10 a.m. — and students are often still waiting to be searched even
then.
86. Students who are friendly with the search teams are permitted to bring
“contraband” items into the school, like MP3 players and playing cards.
87. Students are only permitted to go to the bathroom a maximum of three times per
day. While walking down the hall, students must put their hands behind their backs or in their
pockets.
88. These highly invasive searches are not based on individualized suspicion, and are
neither reasonable nor necessary.
V. Plaintiffs suffer from violations of their due process rights.
A. Plaintiffs are sent to the AISS-CEP School without appropriate notice or
opportunity to be heard.
89. Because the Georgia Constitution guarantees Plaintiffs a free and adequate public
education, Plaintiffs have a property interest in such an education that Defendants may not
24
deprive them of absent fundamentally fair procedures. The education available to students at the
AISS-CEP School is vastly inferior to that available at other Atlanta schools, and falls far below
the minimum requirements of state law. See Section III, supra. Plaintiffs’ assignment to the
AISS-CEP School accordingly constitutes a deprivation of education similar to a suspension or
expulsion. Before any such deprivation may occur, Plaintiffs are entitled to notice and an
opportunity to be heard.
90. Defendants have failed to ensure that students referred to the AISS-CEP School
receive appropriate due process. Students are routinely referred to the school without any
process at all, such as an opportunity to be heard at a tribunal hearing.
91. Some students are inappropriately referred for disciplinary reasons without a
tribunal hearing because they signed student contracts waiving their right to contest a referral.
Such students receive no notice or opportunity to be heard even with respect to whether they
committed the underlying offense for which they are held in violation of the contract.
92. Students referred to the school for administrative reasons fare even worse. Many
are summarily transferred to the AISS-CEP School, despite not having violated any code of
conduct, simply because they are new to the school district. During the 2005-06 school year,
30% of the students assigned to CEP were sent for non-disciplinary reasons.
93. Students who are referred for non-disciplinary reasons do not receive a review of
the strategies and interventions used by the referring school to address instructional and
behavioral issues as required by the Georgia Board of Education.
94. None of the students referred to the school is assessed to determine their specific
needs, whether they have academic, medical, emotional, behavioral, physical or other concerns
25
that may interfere with their ability to benefit from appropriate educational interventions, or
whether the AISS-CEP School will address their needs.
B. Plaintiffs are denied appropriate due process protections when they are
prevented from attending the AISS-CEP School for administrative reasons.
95. As discussed supra at Section IIIA, Defendants have an intentional policy and
practice of referring Plaintiffs to the AISS-CEP School but not permitting them to attend the
school, sometimes for months at a time. These Plaintiffs are denied an education altogether
without any notice or opportunity to be heard.
C. Plaintiffs are denied appropriate due process protections when they are
disciplined at the AISS-CEP School.
96. The United States and Georgia Constitutions require that students who suffer
significant disciplinary action that disrupts their education must receive notice and an
opportunity to be heard. Georgia law also requires that school discipline be meted out in
proportion to the behavior it is intended to punish. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-735.
97. Defendants have failed even to maintain records that would indicate whether
discipline at the school is meted out properly. Discipline is routinely imposed without any
record-keeping to document the precipitating incident, the procedures followed, or the discipline
meted out.
98. Defendants have failed to track crimes occurring at the school. For example, the
school reported no crimes for the 2004-05 school year but referred 358 students to the juvenile
justice system in 2004-05. See also Section VII, supra.
99. To the extent that records are maintained at the school, they are often grossly
26
inaccurate. For example, one student’s guardian noted that she often receives calls from the
school asking her to pick her child up — only to receive papers later on stating that the child was
“removed at parent’s request.”
100. Defendants have failed to ensure that parents are notified when their children are
victimized by other students, or when disciplinary citations are issued.
101. Students are routinely suspended and immediately sent home without any advance
notice to their parents or written explanation. Such students are left to go home unsupervised.
102. Students are routinely suspended for more than 10 days at a time, or for more than
10 days cumulatively over the course of a year, without proper notice or opportunity to be heard.
103. Some Plaintiffs receive bus suspensions without any meaningful notice or
opportunity to be heard. Defendants have collectively punished entire busloads of students by
imposing blanket suspensions on the basis of allegedly disruptive behavior by a small subset of
passengers. For students whose families are unable to provide alternative means of
transportation, this amounts to an out-of-school suspension.
104. AISS procedure requires that students accused of committing serious violations of
the Student Code of Conduct be referred to the Student Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal is to
listen to the accused student, witnesses, and the school administrator to determine whether there
was in fact a code violation. Defendants have failed to ensure that this occurs.
105. The Georgia Code also provides guidelines on how discipline is to be meted out
with appropriate due process protections. For example, while teachers may remove consistently
disruptive students from their classrooms, any teacher doing so must file a report with the
principal or his designee describing the student’s behavior by the beginning of the following
27
school day. Within one school day of the removal, the principal or designee must send the
student’s parents written notice that the student was removed, along with a copy of the teacher’s
report. The principal or designee must discuss the removal with the student and teacher by the
beginning of the following day and must notify the student of the reasons for removal. The
student must have an opportunity to present evidence explaining the situation from her
perspective. Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-738. Defendants have failed to follow these procedures.
106. Under Georgia law, when a student is alleged to have violated the Student Code
of Conduct and the principal recommends expulsion or a suspension of more than ten days, the
student has a right to a hearing after reasonable notice. The hearing must be held no later than
ten school days after the suspension begins, unless parents and school officials agree to an
extension. All parties must be able to present and respond to evidence, cross-examine witnesses
on all unresolved issues, and access a verbatim electronic or written record of the proceedings.
Ga. Code Ann. §§ 20-2-754, 20-2-1160.
107. Within ten days after reviewing all the evidence presented at such a hearing, the
disciplinary entity must render a written decision based exclusively on this evidence. The
decision may be appealed to the local board of education within twenty days. In the case of an
appeal, all parties have the right to be represented by legal counsel. The local board of education
must review the record and render a written decision based solely on the record within ten days.
Defendants have failed to ensure that any of these procedures are followed.
108. The Georgia Department of Education has issued a progressive discipline model
for use by middle and high schools. The model divides discipline into four graduated levels.
Whenever Level Two type discipline is imposed, including in-school suspensions of up to five
days and out-of-school suspensions of up to three days, behavioral support services are to be
28
provided. When Level Three discipline is imposed, including full-day in-school suspensions of
up to fifteen days and out-of-school suspensions of up to five days, the model directs that the
principal confer with the student and parent, that behavior support services be provided, and that
federal and state due process requirements be followed. For Level Four type discipline,
including in-school suspensions of up to thirty days, out-of-school suspensions of up to ten days,
and expulsions for up to one year, the model notes that the principal must confer with the student
and parent. Defendants have failed to ensure that these procedures are followed.
109. Children who are expelled are often expelled summarily, without adequate notice
or opportunity to be heard, and are sometimes even expelled in absentia.
VI. CONSEQUENCES SUFFERED BY PLAINTIFFS
110. Plaintiffs suffer irreparable harm or are at imminent and serious risk of suffering
such harm because of Defendants’ failure properly to supervise and administer the AISS-CEP
School.
111. Many children become victims of violence at the school; some become so fearful
that they stop attending school altogether. One child is terrified to go to school because he has
repeatedly been threatened with rape by older students. Those who remain often find it
impossible to learn because of the violent atmosphere.
112. The teaching staff and curriculum at the AISS-CEP School are so inadequate that
students at the school make little or no academic progress even though many are enrolled for
periods in excess of 180 days.
113. The AISS-CEP School has not once made AYP as measured by the No Child Left
Behind Act (“NCLB”). For each of the last five years, it has been designated as “Needs
Improvement.” In 2007, it was placed in the “Corrective Action” category.
29
114. The school also has failed to achieve the 95% participation rate called for by
federal law. In 2002-03, the participation rate for students taking Georgia’s statewide Criterion-
Referenced Competency Tests (“CRCT”) was 84% in reading and 87% in math. In 2006-07, the
participation rate was 84% in reading and 87% in math.
115. In 2006-07, 65.8% of test-taking students failed to achieve proficiency in reading
and 91.1% of students failed to achieve proficiency in math. According to the 2006-07 Report
Card, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards across all subjects that year was
less than 23%, reflecting a gain over the prior year of just 1.47%.
116. For comparison, 55% of students at the DeKalb Alternative School met or
exceeded standards in 2006-07, reflecting a gain of roughly 19% over the prior year. Even at the
McClarin Alternative School, where percentages declined by nearly 20%, close to 54% of
students still met or exceeded expectations in 2006-07.
117. The 2006-07 Report Card for the AISS-CEP School provides more detail:
a. Ninety-six percent of 6th graders taking the Criterion-Referenced
Competency Test (“CRCT”) failed to meet standards in math or science, exactly the same
as the year before, and not a single female student met expectations in math;
b. Eighty-nine percent of 7th graders taking the CRCT failed to meet
standards in math; 91% failed in science; and 71% failed in reading;
c. Seventy-one percent of 8th graders taking the Eighth Grade Writing
Assessment were below target;
d. Eighty-eight percent of 9th graders taking the Ninth Grade Literature and
Composition test failed; 96% failed the Algebra I test; 92% failed the Biology test; and
not a single student passed the Geometry or Physical Science tests.
30
118. Nor did Defendants meet even the basic performance improvements they sought
between the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. Defendants called for a decrease by two
percentage points in the proportion of students not meeting the standard on the Reading CRCT,
but the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (“GAOSA”) figures indicate that the failure
rate among 6th graders actually rose from 71% to 73%, and the rate among 7th graders rose from
56% to 78%. Likewise, Defendants called for a three percentage point increase in the proportion
of students scoring 70 or above on the End of Course Test (“EOCT”) in 9th grade literature, but
whereas 25% passed that test in 2004-05, only 2% did the following year.
119. In contrast, in 2006-07 at the DeKalb Alternative School, 49% of 6th graders met
or exceeded expectations on the Reading CRCT; 65% of students taking the Georgia High
School Writing Test passed; 77% of students taking the GHSGT passed the English test; and
55% passed the GHSGT in math.
120. Graduation rates at the AISS-CEP School also indicate that the school is failing to
provide its students with an adequate education. Not a single student at the school made it to
senior year in 2006-07, and there was only one senior in 2005-06 — a decline from the 32 the
school had in 2004-05. Only 7 students sat for the Georgia High School Graduation Test in
2006-07, an increase from 1 student the year before, but a decline from the 17 tested in 2004-05.
In other words, even when children are retained at the AISS-CEP School for years at a time, the
school still fails to educate them sufficiently even to sit for the GHSGT, much less to graduate.
121. At the DeKalb Alternative School, there were 20 eleventh graders in the spring of
2007 and 15 twelfth graders — 14 of whom completed high school. More than 100 students
completed high school at the McClarin Alternative School in Fulton County in 2006-07.
122. Record-keeping at the AISS-CEP School is so lax that some students have been
31
forced to repeat a grade because they were assigned to the wrong grade upon entering the school
and the error was never corrected.
123. Plaintiffs suffer repeated Fourth Amendment and due process violations.
124. Plaintiffs are also deprived of their right to be educated by Defendants’ policies
and practices that have the effect of pushing them out of the AISS-CEP School.
125. Attendance rates at CEP have been extremely low since the school’s inception
and Defendants have done little to improve them. In the 2002-03 school year, 35.5% of all
students were absent for more than 15 days. That number rose to 37.8% in 2007. By
comparison, in the Atlanta school system as a whole, only 4.6% of students were absent for 15
days or more in 2007.
126. Defendants called for improvements in attendance rates in the contract, but the
GAOSA report card indicates that while 67% of students were absent 6 days or more in 2004-05,
74.5% were absent that frequently the following year.
127. The school’s failure to keep proper records suggests that even these attendance
rates may be artificially inflated.
128. Students who attend the school are subject to an extraordinarily high rate of
suspensions. Over the course of the 2006-07 school year, there were 165 out-of-school
suspensions, 93 of which were for 10 or more days. If each of these 165 suspensions were given
to a different child, one out of every five of the 844 total enrolled students at the school that year
would have received an out-of-school suspension. Twenty students received out-of-school
suspensions for disruption, 3 for disrespectful behavior, and 9 for unauthorized items. One child
was suspended for 10 or more days for “chronic problem studying.”
129. Suspensions are imposed on some students in order to compel their parents to
32
withdraw them from the school. One student’s probation officer was told by the principal that
the school was repeatedly suspending the child because it lacked the resources to deal with him,
and that his mother should withdraw him from school. Parents of suspended children must re-
enroll their children in person during normal school hours and are often kept waiting for hours
before being permitted to do so.
130. Those students who continue to attend school are subject to Defendants’
intentional policy and practice of inappropriately referring students to the juvenile justice system.
In 2006-07, the school referred 165 students to juvenile court, with an average of 4.17 charges
per child. With a total enrollment that year of 844, the school referred nearly one out of every
five students. Eighty-four students were referred once, and 81 students at least twice. Twenty-
nine students faced 8 or more charges. More than a fifth of all charges brought were dismissed.
131. In contrast, the similarly sized McClarin School made only 31 referrals to juvenile
court in 2006-07.
132. Many of the AISS-CEP students being referred to the juvenile justice system are
being referred for offenses that in other schools are dealt with in the principal’s office. Roughly
30% of the students referred to juvenile court by the AISS-CEP School in 2006-07 were referred
for public order offenses, like disrupting school or disorderly conduct, compared to only 18% of
juveniles charged statewide in 2006. While far more likely than juveniles statewide to be
charged with public order offenses, AISS-CEP students are far less likely to be charged with
status offenses (14.1% of referrals compared to 27.1% statewide), property offenses (9.3% of
referrals compared to 26.2%), traffic offenses (3.2% compared to 10.3%), and sex offenses
(0.3% compared to 3.6%). They are equally (10%) as likely to be charged with drug offenses
and slightly less likely to be charged with violent offenses (17.3% compared to 18.6%).
33
133. According to the 2006-07 GAOSA Report Card, dropout rates for the AISS-CEP
School are five times higher than in AISS generally, with roughly one in five students dropping
out. In the 2006-07 year, more than 38% of the students enrolled “left early.” Nearly 95% of
those “leaving early” were male.
134. Those students who are not expelled, referred to the juvenile justice system, or
pressured into dropping out rarely make it back to regular schools. Defendants’ intentional
policies and practices routinely keep children at the school for longer than the 90 to 180 days of
attendance contemplated by the AISS-CEP Contract, for longer than their referrals require or for
longer than is educationally appropriate. Some children are retained at the school for no
pedagogical reason whatsoever but only because of inaccurate record-keeping. Many fall too far
behind academically while at the AISS-CEP School to be able to catch up at regular school.
135. Failure to grant Plaintiffs the relief requested herein will result in continued and
irreparable harm.
COUNT I
DEFENDANTS HAVE FAILED TO PROVIDE PLAINTIFFS WITH AN ADEQUATE PUBLIC EDUCATION — GA. CONST. ART. VIII, § I, PARA. I.
136. Plaintiffs adopt and incorporate herein by this reference the above paragraphs 1
through 134.
137. AISS Defendants are obligated under Article VIII of the Georgia Constitution to
provide Plaintiffs with an adequate public education.
138. Federal law, state law, Georgia Department of Education guidelines, and AISS’s
own internal guidelines provide clear indicators of what constitutes an adequate public
education. As set forth herein, AISS Defendants have failed to ensure that the AISS-CEP School
34
provides an adequate education to its students by any possible measure.
139. Defendants’ failure violates Plaintiffs’ state constitutional rights by depriving
Plaintiffs of an adequate education while they are at the AISS-CEP School. Plaintiffs have
suffered harm as a result and are entitled to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief.
COUNT II
DENIAL OF DUE PROCESS RIGHTS – U.S. CONST. AMEND. XIV; GA. CONST. ART. I, § I, PARA. I; 42 U.S.C. § 1983
140. Paragraphs 1 through 134 are hereby incorporated by reference.
141. Defendants’ intentional practices and polices of referring Plaintiffs to the AISS-
CEP School and of imposing discipline on Plaintiffs without notice and opportunity to be heard
violate Plaintiffs’ due process rights. The United States Constitution, the Georgia Constitution,
the Georgia Code, the Georgia Board of Education rules, and AISS internal guidelines shed
additional light on Plaintiffs’ due process rights with respect to referral to the school and
discipline imposed while at the school. The Fourteenth Amendment violation also entitles
Plaintiffs to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §
1983.
COUNT III
DENIAL OF RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCHES — U.S. CONST. AMEND. IV; GA. CONST. ART. I, § I, PARA. XIII; 42 U.S.C. § 1983
142. Paragraphs 1 through 134 are hereby incorporated by reference.
143. Defendants’ intentionally adopted search policies and practices at the AISS-CEP
School are both unnecessary and unreasonable. These policies and practices violate Plaintiffs’
right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the
United States Constitution and Article I, Section I, Para. XIII of the Georgia Constitution. The
35
Fourth Amendment violation in turn provides Plaintiffs with the right to obtain declaratory and
injunctive relief and attorney fees, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983.
COUNT IV
BREACH OF CONTRACT
144. Paragraphs 1 through 134 are hereby incorporated by reference.
145. CEP Defendants have breached the AISS-CEP Contract by failing to provide the
vast majority of the services the contract obligates them to provide. AISS Defendants have
failed to take any steps whatsoever to enforce the terms of the contract and instead have extended
the contract despite being on notice of CEP Defendants’ material breaches.
146. Georgia Code § 9-2-20(b) provides that the beneficiary of a contract made
between other parties for his benefit may maintain an action against the promisor on the contract.
147. Plaintiffs are the beneficiaries of the contract between AISS and CEP.
148. Section 11.11 of the contract, which claims the contract is for the sole benefit of
CEP and AISS and is not intended to confer any rights or benefits upon any third parties, is void
because it violates public policy.
149. Defendants included Section 11.11 in the contract in an effort to exclude the very
children they are responsible for educating. To permit Defendants to use Section 11.11 to
insulate themselves from legal challenge brought by the very students harmed by Defendants’
gross failure to provide even a minimally adequate education would seriously injure the public
interest.
150. Because AISS contracted out to CEP its obligation to provide an adequate
education to Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs bring this litigation to enforce the terms under which AISS’s
obligations were contracted to CEP.
36
151. Provisions of the contract Defendants have materially breached include:
Section 3.2B requires that CEP use the Georgia Performance Standards to review student
records and to determine each student’s specific course needs for development of an
individualized academic plan; that all components of the PLATO Learning System provided by
CEP are to be aligned with the Georgia Performance Standards; and that CEP will offer the
School District/GDOE approved courses in English language arts/reading, mathematics, science,
and social studies/history, as well as any other courses that may be required for grade promotion
or graduation and consistent with the requirements of the Georgia High School Graduation
Guidelines
152. Section 3.2E requires that CEP employ a sufficient number of Highly Qualified
Teachers and Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals and comply with the Georgia teacher-student
staff ratio for alternative education programs.
153. Section 3.2F requires CEP to provide adequate equipment and supplies for a
recreational program consistent with the AISS’s current programs.
154. Section 3.3A requires that CEP provide all instructional materials, technology and
software required to deliver the CEP Program, as well as the instructional and administrative
employees necessary to administer the education program.
155. Section 3.3B states that instruction at the AISS-CEP School shall include the
essential knowledge and skills, based on the Georgia Performance Standards, necessary to
achieve course completion or course credit.
156. Section 3.3E requires that CEP provide students subject to expulsion the same
procedural due process as utilized by AISS for all other students. It requires that CEP follow all
applicable federal and state laws and statutes and Board policies and regulations in relation to
37
classroom management and discipline and states that disciplinary due process standards set forth
in the Board’s Policy are to be complied with.
157. Section 3.2G requires CEP to maintain records on student enrollment, attendance,
courses offered, number of students served, courses completed, transcripts and student report
cards in accordance with AISS practices. The contract also requires CEP to establish the
instructional hours of the school day to record absences in order to determine attendance for all
grades using accepted attendance accounting procedures as promulgated by the State.
158. Section 4.2 requires CEP to provide all specific textbooks and teacher’s editions,
resource kits, and library and media materials necessary.
159. Section 7.3 requires that Defendants agree upon a transition program to support
and monitor each student’s return to regular school and to implement a longitudinal tracking
program for such students.
160. Section 9.2 requires that CEP ensure that all students are provided a research-
based instructional program that is aligned with the Georgia Performance Standards; that student
progress for long-term referrals of 90 days or more be assessed by comparing each student’s
previous school district attendance, behavior, and performance in core content subjects to
attendance, behavior, and performance in core content subjects while at the AISS-CEP School;
and that at least 95% of all actively enrolled students participate in the state and locally mandated
assessments.
161. Section 9.3 sets out an “Academic Advancement Guarantee,” under which all
students who are in attendance at the school for 120 days or more are to make a one-year
advancement in grade level skills performance in reading and/or mathematics.
38
COUNT V
VIOLATION OF QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION ACT — O.C.G.A. § 20-2-130 ET. SEQ.
162. Paragraphs 1 through 134 are hereby incorporated by reference.
163. Defendants are in violation of many of the requirements of the Quality Basic
Education Act’s provisions governing alternative education programs, including, but not limited
to, the Act’s requirement that disruptive students be separated from non-disruptive students; that
the program provide a focus on self-discipline; that the program provide for students’
educational and behavioral needs; and that the program provide supervision and counseling.
164. Defendants are also in violation of many of the Act’s provisions governing
education programs more generally, including but not limited to the Act’s requirement that
students be provided with a course of study in the background, history and development of the
federal and state governments, Georgia county and municipal governments, the history of the
United States and Georgia, and the essentials of the United States and Georgia constitutions,
including the study of American institutions and ideals; the Act’s requirement that students be
provided with a course on the dangers of alcohol and drugs; and the Act’s requirement that
students be provided with a course in sex education and AIDS prevention.
165. Plaintiffs are among the class for whose especial benefit O.C.G.A. § 20-2-130 et.
seq. was enacted and enforcement of this statute by Plaintiffs is consistent with the underlying
purpose of the legislative scheme.
COUNT VI
FAILURE TO FOLLOW DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES — O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-737,
20-2-738, 20-2-753, 20-2-754, 20-2-765
166. Paragraphs 1 through 134 are hereby incorporated by reference.
39
167. Defendants are required to ensure that teachers file reports about disruptive
students and that the principal or principal’s designee forward a copy of such reports to the
students’ parents within one school day along with information on how the parents may contact
the principal or designee. If disciplinary action is taken in response to such a report, written
notice is to be sent to the teacher and the students’ parents within one school day of the action
taken and reasonable attempts are to be made to confirm that such notification has been received.
Defendants have failed to ensure that these procedures are followed. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-737.
168. Defendants are required to ensure that certain procedures are followed when a
student is removed from a classroom. Teachers are to file a report describing the student’s
behavior; written notice is to be sent to the student’s parents along with a copy of the teacher’s
report; the student is to receive an opportunity to be heard by the beginning of the next school
day; if the teacher does not consent to the student’s return to class, a change in placement must
be made by a placement review committee; out-of-school suspensions may not exceed more than
10 school days; and reasonable attempts must be made to confirm that written notices have been
received by the student’s parents. Defendants have failed to ensure that these procedures are
followed. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-738.
169. Defendants are required to hold a disciplinary hearing following any instance of
an alleged violation of the student code of conduct where the principal recommends a suspension
or expulsion exceeding 10 days. Defendants have failed to ensure that these hearings take place.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-753.
170. Defendants are required to follow certain procedures when convening disciplinary
proceedings. All parties must be given an opportunity for a hearing after reasonable notice
served personally or by mail; hearing are to be held no later than 10 school days after the
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beginning of the suspension; all parties must have an opportunity to present and respond to
evidence and to examine and cross-examine witnesses; a verbatim electronic or written record
shall be made available; decisions shall be based solely on the evidence received at the hearing
and made in writing within 10 days of the close of the record; decisions are appealable to the
board of education. Defendants have failed to ensure that these procedures are followed.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-754.
171. Defendants are required to ensure that whenever a teacher or principal identifies a
student as a chronic disciplinary problem student, the principal shall notify the parent of the
disciplinary problem, invite the parent to observe the student in a classroom situation, and
request at least one parent to attend a conference with the principal and/or teacher to devise a
disciplinary and behavioral correction plan. Defendants have failed to ensure that these
procedures are followed. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-765.
172. Plaintiffs are among the class for whose especial benefit O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-737,
20-2-738, 20-2-753, 20-2-754, 20-2-765 were enacted and enforcement of this statute by
Plaintiffs is consistent with the underlying purpose of the legislative scheme.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
173. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court:
174. Assume jurisdiction over this action;
175. Order that Plaintiffs may maintain this action as a class action pursuant to
O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23;
176. Declare unconstitutional and unlawful:
a. Defendants’ violation of Plaintiffs’ rights, including their right to an
adequate public education under Article VIII of the Georgia Constitution;
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b. Defendants’ violation of Plaintiffs’ rights under the Due Process Clause of
Article I of the Georgia Constitution, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983;
c. Defendants’ violation of Plaintiffs’ rights under Article I, Section I, Para.
XIII of the Georgia Constitution, the Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983;
d. Section 11.11 of the AISS-CEP Contract, as being void for public policy
reasons; and
e. Defendants’ violation of Plaintiffs’ rights under O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-130 et.
seq., 20-2-737, 20-2-738, 20-2-753, 20-2-754, and 20-2-765.
177. Permanently enjoin Defendants from subjecting Plaintiffs to practices that violate
their rights;
178. Order appropriate relief requiring Defendants to provide educational services
consistent with the requirements of the Georgia Constitution and Georgia Code;
179. Order CEP Defendants to specifically perform under the terms of the AISS-CEP
Contract and AISS Defendants to enforce the provisions of the AISS-CEP Contract;
180. Award to Plaintiffs the reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the prosecution
of this action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees; and
181. Grant any other relief the Court deems necessary or proper.
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Dated this 11th day of March 2008. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ _____________________________
Chara Fisher Jackson (386101) Mawuli M. Malcom Davis (212029) American Civil Liberties Union Robert O. Bozeman (073561) of Georgia The Davis Bozeman Law Firm PC 75 Piedmont Ave., Ste. 514 4153 B Flat Shoals Pkwy, Ste 204 Atlanta, GA 30303 Decatur, GA 30034 Phone: (404) 523-6201 Phone: (404) 244-2004 Fax: (404) 577-0181 Fax: (404) 244-2020 _____________________________ The following counsel for Plaintiffs will seek pro hac vice admission: Nancy G. Abudu (001471) American Civil Liberties Union Emily Chiang Southern Regional Office Reginald T. Shuford 2600 Marquis One Tower Laurence M. Schwartztol 245 Peachtree Center Ave American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Atlanta, GA 30303 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor Phone: (404) 523-2721 New York, NY 10004 Fax: (404) 653-0331 Phone: (212) 549-2500 Fax: (212) 549-2680 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS