Dive Brief:
- A civil rights complaint filed Tuesday alleges that the Pittsburgh Public Schools plan to close and consolidate schools discriminates against Black students. The closure plan, approved in May, calls for closing 12 schools and nine facilities.
- The complaint, filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission on behalf of five students being reassigned to new schools under the plan, says Black students will be disproportionately impacted when at least 6,000 students are displaced.
- The district depended on unreliable utilization rates that “serve no legitimate educational purpose” in deciding the closures, according to the complaint. A district spokesperson said it had not received the complaint and declined to comment.
Dive Insight:
In May, the Pennsylvania district approved a plan to close 12 underused schools to address declining enrollment and aging infrastructure. The changes are expected to save $4 million in 2027 and double that amount in 2028.
However, the complaint says the district’s reliance on utilization rates — or the ratio of enrolled students to building capacity — discriminated against Black students. Districts often rely on utilization rates when deciding to close or consolidate buildings.
“On average, the lower a school’s utilization rate, the higher the share of Black student enrollment,” the complaint said. “The inverse relationship between utilization rate and Black student enrollment in PPS indicates that basing school closure decisions primarily on utilization rates will disproportionately affect schools serving higher shares of Black students.”…