Johnston County,NC School District, Board, Superintendent and School Guilty of Racial Discrimination

Sept. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- An African American mother of three was banned from all of Johnston County School Properties, after she violated Cooper Elementary Car Pooling Policies, October 6, 2010.

Telethia Barrett, the mother of two school age children, ages 7 and 8, both attended Cooper Elementary last school year. Her oldest child had been tested and found gifted with the Cog AT test in Wake County. The family built a home in Johnston County and soon moved there to start the school year. Soon after the school year had started, the mother came to believe she was encountering racial discrimination against her child who was to begin receiving AIG services. Telethia Barrett states the school refused to give her direction of the steps to take to make sure her child was given AIG services the start of the school year.

She soon called for a meeting September 21, 2010 with the District's AIG Coordinator, Interim Principal, the School's Assistant Principal and the District's Chief Academic Officer. In this meeting she voiced her concerns of racial discrimination being committed against her child. She felt as if their refusal to communicate with her or answer any question she had, was because her daughter was African American. She sited statistics that show African American are kept at an state average of 8% in the AIG program even though the African American state population is 22%-24%. That white Americans were kept at 85%-89% in the AIG program even though their statewide population was only 68%. Whites had a 21% acceptable advantage well over blacks 16% disadvantage. She let them know she would be protesting their actions against her and her child. She sited this website;

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/academicservices/gifted/r...

After she stated her concerns she was banned two weeks later, October 6, 2010, from all of Johnston County School Properties, indefinitely, with out warning, because she violated car pooling policies as stated by school officials. She called and wrote to report the ban to the Superintendent, and the School Board, asking for an appeal October 7, 2010. No one returned her calls for help. Mrs. Barrett says she was simply ignored, and blocked out of the system.  Due to the county wide indefinite ban, she was unable to set appointments to speak with someone face to face or go before the board to seek help with an appeal .

The NAACP, Johnston County Branch, became involved October 22, 2010. She let them know due to the ban, she could not pick up or drop off her children, they were not able to go to school or be transferred to any other school within the district and she was forced to home school. She also let them know how on October 6, 2010, school officials left her children alone for more than 30 minutes unsupervised and the safety of her children within the school was now a major concern.

The Office of Civil Rights Letter of Findings state;
1) The District and Cooper Elementary School discriminated against Mrs. Barrett based on race when she was banned from the District Property indefinitely
2) The District's Superintendent and School Board discriminated against her when they failed to respond to her appeal of the "ban" from District property.

Johnston County Superintendent and the Office of Civil Rights have entered into a voluntary resolution agreement to ensure the District will continue to comply with Title VI the Civil Rights Act of 1064 (Title VI).

Mrs. Barrett states that although she is grateful that evidence show their acts of discrimination against her, she wants to make sure, their action of discrimination against her child is also made known.