Crestwood School District, Failure to Provide Educational Services, Michigan 2014

Michigan schools have been put on notice after a comprehensive settlement agreement was reached between the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights and the U.S. Department of Justice to improve educational services for students who are English Language Learners (ELLs).

The investigation, led by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, found that the district failed to provide adequate services and materials for ELL students, employed an insufficient number of qualified teachers and administrators, and did not monitor and evaluate its ELL program effectively.

The district also faced allegations of employment discrimination in the hiring of Arab-American and African-American teachers and claims that individuals who complained about discrimination were subject to retaliation.

Under the agreement, the district will provide all ELL students, including students with disabilities, with appropriate English as a Second Language (ESL) and sheltered content instruction taught by teachers who are properly qualified and trained.

The district will also develop a kindergarten through-12th grade ESL curriculum, conduct a comprehensive inventory of the instructional materials, and provide ELL students and Limited English proficient (LEP) parents with meaningful access to important information.

The district will also work with the Department of Justice Community Relations Service to improve parental outreach and community engagement by establishing a community advisory panel and implementing training on cultural competency.

The enforcement of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act is a top priority of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

The settlement agreement will remain in place for at least four years and requires the district to implement programmatic changes at the start of the 2014-15 school year.

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