Sarah Solon

PODCAST: Damon Hewitt on the Prison-Like Conditions of New Orleans Public Schools

Damon Hewitt, Assistant Counsel for the NAACP Legal and Educational Fund, has been working in the New Orleans school system on a slew of problems - ranging from grossly inadequate services for special needs students to schools that feel unsafe.

Last week, Damon's organization filed a lawsuit to ensure that the 300 students illegally left on waiting lists - and completely without any educational services - be enrolled or provided with adequate educational services. From the press release:

When the winter term starts on Monday, 300 children of displaced families will be able to attend public school in New Orleans as a result of a letter sent by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) to the New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) demanding that every child be enrolled in school without delay. Although RSD announced on January 31st that it would enroll every child waiting on its rolls, LDF followed up its letter by filing a lawsuit today to ensure that the district is prepared to meet the educational needs of every school age child that returns to New Orleans over the coming months.

I spoke with him about these issues, as well as the "school to prison pipeline," in which students feel like they are being groomed for prison by the fact that cops patrol their hallways and some schools have more security guards than teachers. Listen in to this PODCAST for an update on the status of the rickety school system, as well as the host of issues facing New Orleans as it continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

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Posted at 9:03 AM, Feb 05, 2007 in Podcast
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