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Lower Merion School District Sued by Residents of South Ardmore

ARDMORE, PA, May 14, 2009. Today several residents of South Ardmore filed suit inthe United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against theLower Merion School District over a recently adopted redistricting plan. The plaintiffs,all racial minorities who have children in elementary or middle schools in the District,allege that Lower Merion illegally discriminated against them in its recent redistricting process.On January 12, 2009, the Lower Merion School District adopted a controversialredistricting plan under which residents from the historically African Americanneighborhood of South Ardmore will be bused several miles away to Harriton HighSchool, despite the fact that they can currently walk to Lower Merion High School inArdmore. Under the redistricting plan, approximately half of the children in SouthArdmore are given a choice of which high school to attend, whereas the other half aremandated to be bused to Harriton.The South Ardmore families contend that there is overwhelming evidence that theredistricting plan was motivated by the school district’s desire to increase the number of minority students at Harriton High School. The families hold that targeting children for redistricting based on their race violates federal civil rights laws, including the FourteenthAmendment to the United States Constitution and the U.S. Civil Rights Act. The familiesare requesting that the court restore their choice to attend Lower Merion High School, theonly school in their neighborhood.Dr. James Herbert, spokesperson for the plaintiffs, states that the evidence willdemonstrate that the District’s actions are clearly illegal. “Not only does this redistrictingscheme unfairly burden the minority community relative to the rest of the district, but itspecifically targets black families for redistricting solely because of their race,” saidHerbert. “We support these efforts totally” says the Reverend Albert G. Davis, Jr.,President of the Main Line Chapter of the NAACP. “We thank the community at largefor their support of all the children and families who have been affected by this District’sdecisions.”The law suit comes on the heels of investigations by two governmental agencies into theredistricting process. On March 25