Attorneys filed a class-action lawsuit late Monday against Elgin-based Unit School District 46, alleging that the redistricting plan the school board adopted last year segregates and discriminates against minority and limited-English-speaking students.
The suit, filed in federal court in Chicago on behalf of three Hispanic families with children in the 40,000-pupil district, alleged that the redistricting plan clustered low-income and minority pupils in elementary and middle schools in central Elgin.
Segregation in that area could lead to schools failing and hindering pupils’ performance, said Carol Ashley, a Chicago attorney representing the families.
“We’re trying to make sure Latino students receive adequate educational services and not feel the brunt of the district’s redistricting plan,” Ashley said.
Ashley said Hispanic students are already feeling the negative effects of the realignment. Some Hispanic students in the district’s Limited English Proficiency courses cannot transfer into regular courses because of overcrowding in their schools, Ashley said.
The complaint also stated that the redistricting plan closed down schools with Limited English Proficiency courses without replacing them, forcing those students to change schools more frequently than other students.
As a result, minority and students with limited English proficiency receive fewer educational opportunities, the lawsuit contends.
With 14,000 Hispanic students making up 35 percent of the district’s enrollment, more could join the lawsuit at a later date, Ashley said.
The lawsuit did not come as a surprise. School board administrators approved the redistricting, which sought to create more neighborhood schools and a fifth high school and reduce busing, after a heated public debate in March.
U-46 officials could not be reached for comment. Board administrators have defended the plan in the past, saying additional schools would give parents more opportunities to get involved in their children’s education.
The district is the state’s second-largest, serving Bartlett, Carol Stream, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, St. Charles, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Streamwood, Wayne and West Chicago.
