The Florida state Board of Education passed a controversial plan to set reading and math goals based upon race. (Photo credit should read Frank Perry/AFP/GettyImages)
By Lauren Roth | Originally Published at The Orlando Sentinel. August 2, 2013

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on Friday filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that Florida’s race-based education goals for minority students violate civil rights law.

In October 2012, the state established reading and math goals for students that varied by race, with Asians expected to perform best and black students the worst. The plan is set to go into effect for the 2013-14 school year.

In reading, the plan sets goals of 90 percent of Asian-American students reading at grade level by 2018 versus 88 percent of white students, 81 percent of Hispanic students and 74 percent of black students. In math, 92 percent of Asian-Americans are expected to perform at grade level versus 86 percent of white students, 80 percent of Hispanic students and 74 percent of black students.

The complaint, which was filed jointly with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach, asks the justice department to intervene and prevent the state from implementing the goals, which the non-profit civil rights group calls discriminatory.

The filing was announced at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee.

The goals, if met, would narrow but not eliminate existing achievement gaps among student groups. But they are not acceptable because of the message they send, said Jerri Katzerman, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“When you set low expectations, that’s what you get,” she said.

Florida has 2.7 million students, more than half of whom are black or Hispanic. Katzerman said there are other states that are planning to continue to track student performance by race, but not the way Florida plans to.

State officials have said the new goals will not be part of Florida’s A-to-F grading system, but progress will be reported. Schools and districts that fall short will have to write improvement plans.

“Children who fall behind in reading and math will almost certainly have fewer opportunities,” Katzerman said. “Florida is sentencing all of its kids to lower-paying jobs because their state doesn’t believe they can do any better.”

When the state Board of Education approved the plan last year, the race-based goals were criticized as creating negative perceptions.

Robert Burns, a 14-year-old rising ninth-grader in Miami-Dade County, is a party to the lawsuit. Robert, who is black, said the goals should all be 100 percent.

“If you expect 60, I’ll give you 60. If you shoot for the moon, I’ll land on the stars,” he said.

The last incarnation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is up for renewal, required all states to aim for 100 percent proficiency for all student groups.

Burns said he earned a perfect score on the reading FCAT in 7th grade, and he doesn’t see why expectations should be any lower for others.

“I’m more than what statistics or Florida thinks of me,” Robert said. “When I found out they were going to set lower standards for me based on the color of my skin, I felt devastated. I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think it’s right.”

And Charles McKenzie, the Florida’s coordinator for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, called academic expectations “sacrosanct.”

“It’s unfair, it’s unscientific and it’s not going to be allowed to continue to fester,” he said.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

lroth@tribune.com or 407-420-5120. Follow her on Twitter @RothLauren