DOJ Sues RI Dept. Of Education And Providence schools, Claims Discrimination

The Department of Justice sued the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Providence Public School District, claiming they discriminate against white teachers.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday takes aim at the Educators of Color Loan Forgiveness Program which provides up to $25,000 in student loan forgiveness to eligible teachers.

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Under the program, "teachers of color” "includes teachers 'who identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, and/or 2 or more races' and excludes only white teachers," according to a media release from the Department of Justice.

The loan forgiveness program was a joint effort by the Rhode Island Department of Education, the Providence Public School District and the Rhode Island Foundation to "recruit more non-white teachers to the district," according to the civil complaint, which said it "opened applications to all newly hired non-white PPSD teachers with at least $5,000 in student debt."

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"This is race discrimination in public employment, pure and simple," the complaint said.

"Helping new teachers pay off their student loans may be a worthy endeavor for public

school districts, the complaint said. "But excluding white teachers is racist and unlawful."

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Suzanne Ouellette, the chief of communications for the Providence Public School District, released a joint statement from the district and the Rhode Island Department of Education.

"Over the last few months, PPSD and RIDE worked in good faith with the U.S. Department of Justice to reach a resolution on this matter," the statement said. "PPSD and RIDE officials have not been served, and we were not informed by federal representatives that they would proceed with a lawsuit. Since there is active litigation, PPSD and RIDE will not be commenting further."

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