Jackson Free Press

Less than an hour after signing the contract to become Jackson Public Schools' next superintendent, Cedrick Gray was sitting in a hearing to determine whether or not the district will lose its accreditation.

Although he declined to comment on the hearing, Gray said he plans to "hit the ground running" as he prepares to take over from interim Superintendent Jayne Sargent July 1.

"We know that no work like that starts on that day; work like that starts many days before then, so we're excited about getting started well before July 1," he said.

Late this morning, the Mississippi Department of Education finished presenting its evidence that JPS had failed to provide an appropriate education for students with disabilities. Tawny McCleon, a contractor who has been reviewing the district's compliance issues, said she believed JPS could show that it was complying with federal regulations within a relatively short time frame.

"It could be done within a year if everyone is on the same page," she said.

At the time of writing, the district had just begun presenting its evidence.

The hearing began last month before the state Commission on School Accreditation, which is considering whether the district should lose its accreditation due to how it has disciplined and served students with disabilities.

The accreditation issues stem from a 2010 complaint by the Mississippi Youth Justice Project, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that JPS had repeatedly suspended students with behavioral problems or sent them to the Capital City Alternative School rather than getting them help to overcome their problems.

MDE found that JPS was not in compliance with 10 federal regulations regarding students with disabilities and has since failed to resolve its noncompliance issues. During today's testimony, Jim Keith, an attorney for JPS, suggested that the noncompliance issues were a matter of the district's paperwork not being up to the state's standards, rather than students being underserved on a large scale.

"Under (federal law), the bottom line that Congress intended is to provide an appropriate education for any child with disabilities," he said.

Early on in the meeting, Keith argued that a report from the state's most recent follow-up visit should not be included in today's testimony, since it was not available when the hearing began last month. He said the district only received the report Thursday and did not have time to sufficiently review it.

Check with http://www.jfp.ms later today for updates on the accreditation hearing.

Previous Commentsshow

After the district presented less than an hour of testimony, the commission adjourned for lunch. Members agreed to meet again after lunch to discuss JPS' accreditation status in executive session before voting. Blake Wilson was the only dissenting vote on the decision to go into executive session. As a point of reference, the state's witnesses and testimony took about 5-6 hours, spread over two meetings, although that did include questions from JPS' representation. I'll update the website as I hear more.

lizwaibel

May 21 2012

Other media are reporting that JPS will not lose its accreditation and has until November to resolve its noncompliance issues.

lizwaibel

May 21 2012

JPS interim Superintendent Jayne Sargent has issued a statement via email on the commission's decision: "We are absolutely thrilled with the Commission's response to our request. We could not be happier. We will live up to their expectations in planning instruction for children, involving parents in their children's education, and in providing monthly reports to the Commission and any other documentation that they request. We thank the Commission members individually and collectively."

lizwaibel

May 21 2012