Lawsuit says kids traumatized by violence have right to mental health services in school
California students and teachers filed a landmark lawsuit Monday arguing that kids traumatized by violence or other hardship have a basic right to school-based mental-health support that would help them overcome barriers to learning.
The suit against the Compton Unified School District invokes the Americans with Disabilities Act and seeks class-action status for children across the United States who suffer trauma similar to the experiences described by five students in the Compton district.
Compton is a city with its own school district nestled inside urban Los Angeles. The city is home to struggling working-class families, and has also long been known as a tough, dangerous community because of its high crime rate and violent gang rivalries.
Three teachers who instruct children in the Compton district are also plaintiffs in the suit. The teachers believe they require — and have been denied — appropriate training to help troubled students cope with trauma so they can effectively concentrate and learn. Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm, filed the suit in federal court in Los Angeles along with Los Angeles law firm Irell & Menella.
“If we had children in wheelchairs of course we would say that we have to build ramps,” said Mark Rosenbaum, directing attorney for Public Counsel’s Opportunity Under the Law project. “These kids need opportunity now. It’s an urgent matter. Trauma needs to be addressed so these kids have a fighting chance.”
When children who are suffering emotionally tune out of their lessons or create disturbances in class, Rosenbaum said, teachers need training to start asking kids “what’s happened to you” instead of “what’s wrong with you.”
District enrollment in Compton is 80 percent Latino and 19 percent African-American. Low graduation rates — and the risk of incarceration — among youth of color in high-poverty areas like Compton are often identified as a top concern for lawmakers, policy analysts and business people in California.
“To close the achievement gap, we must deal with trauma,” Rosenbaum said.
In response to the allegations in the suit, Micah Ali, president of the Compton Unified School Board, issued a statement Monday both defending the district and admitting to its challenges.
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
