Some districts can skirt new law

Cliff Evans, a doting dad, invested thousands so his youngest girl could find her somersaulting stride in competitive cheerleading, and he was counting on school choice to give her the pick of Coweta County’s best squads.

But he was disappointed.

As HB 251 became law this week, Evans and others across the state learned that when it comes to choice, their transfer options are sometimes being limited, delayed or postponed indefinitely. And so are their hopes for their kids.

“Cheerleading is very serious,” said Evans, who over nine years has sunk $25,000 into preparing his daughter to have a shot at making the cut in high school and eventually college. “I want my child to succeed.”

A notice on the Coweta County Schools Web site recently alerted choice-seeking parents that the new law did not apply to them. Coweta County Schools —- and more than 40 other districts statewide —- operate under federal desegregation orders that still mandate school integration even in some districts that have become more diverse over time. School districts must show regular compliance and can appeal to be released from them when obligations have been met.

Administrators worried that HB 251 could disrupt racial balances at certain schools were advised by the Georgia Department of Education to err on the side of caution —- and follow federal law over state law.

That means Evans’ rising freshman, who landed a coveted spot on the award-winning squad at her choice school Northgate High across town, may be stuck cheering in the stands of her neighborhood school instead.

“We are going to follow [HB] 251 as it’s written just as soon as we are no longer under a consent order,” said Steve Barker, director of administrative services at Coweta Schools. The district’s 2006 consent decree is under federal justice review. “We have asked the Justice Department … to be released from the consent order and to review our statistics to see that we have complied. This is a process. … There is no timeline.”

Before HB 251, there was no urgency from parents pushing districts to get released from their outdated orders. Now that they are, it means long waits for parents such as Evans.

“I have a right … to choice,” Evans said. “I don’t want a legal document that is not being correctly adjudicated to take my choice from me because the school board is not doing their job.”

U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson Alejandro Miyar said, however, having a desegregation order “does not prevent” a school district from implementing choice, but systems could not “grant a transfer which has a negative effect on the desegregation process.”

Miyar said Coweta’s order was not lifted several years ago during a statewide review because the district had not fully implemented its plan.

While Evans and others wait indefinitely on choice, some Georgia parents have to wait until classes resume to pick their kids’ schools.

At Hall and Habersham county schools, administrators say space can’t be predicted until kids are in classes for two weeks. Transfers could open up then.

“Parents are highly frustrated,” said community activist Tammy Caudell of Habersham County. “The two-week rule will have kids attending a school that they are not ultimately going to be in. It will cause disruption, especially for kindergartners.”

Hall County Schools officials said they simply need time to count heads. Gordon Higgins, school spokesman, said many students in the system are transients. “Our history has been that a lot of students don’t report on the first day.”

Habersham County has a similar process, but its superintendent said he is going to do his best to see that parents get their picks as quickly as possible. Only elementary school slots are available in the district, and officials said the majority of parents should know whether they can transfer before school starts.

“We are going to try to do our best to comply with the law as best we can … and do it in a way that best helps our families,” said Superintendent Robert Costley. “If we don’t, hold me accountable.”

Also inside

> See which districts are offering choice transfers. A5