Civil rights issue of our time?

The lawsuit that had been filed to lift the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts just developed a new twist: the New England chapter of the NAACP and the Lawyers' Committee on Civil Rights and Economic Justice have moved to intervene in the case on behalf of students in district public schools.

“The NAACP is firmly committed to high quality, free, public schools for all,” said Juan Cofield, President of the New England Area Conference of the NAACP.  “All available dollars for education should be used to improve public schools and close the education gap.  Public policy which siphons funds from traditional public schools and expands a dual education system is not a constructive solution, and it will lead to the erosion of traditional public schools.”  He noted that many charter schools are not welcoming environments for students of color, citing evidence of charter schools that suspend Black students at far higher rates than traditional public schools.