Justice Department Responds To South Philly High Violence

Sunday, August 29, 2010

An update on the now infamous South Philadelphia story:

Federal investigators have informed the Philadelphia School District that they found merit in the claims of Asian students who said they were abused at South Philadelphia High School. The school exploded in racial violence on Dec. 3, when 30 Asians were attacked during a daylong series of assaults carried out by groups of mostly African-American classmates.

In a letter to the district, the Justice Department advised school officials to take steps to settle the matter. It was not immediately clear what form a settlement might take, though it would require the district to improve the treatment of Asian students, who say they have been mocked, harassed and beaten at the school. The action follows a formal civil rights complaint filed in January by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, an advocacy group. Such complaints do not result in criminal penalties, but can bring broad changes provided that violations are found to have occurred.
Read it in full.