Jackson Free Press

JACKSON (AP) — Jackson's school board reversed itself Tuesday and accepted an agreement that will allow the district to retain state accreditation.

The board had voted 4-3 one day earlier to reject the agreement, which gives the state Department of Education substantial control over Jackson's special education programs. But board member Kisiah Nolan changed her mind. The board met again Tuesday, this time voting 4-3 to accept.

Jackson Public Schools faced a Tuesday deadline to sign the deal and avoid losing accreditation on Thursday. State officials confirmed Tuesday they received the agreement.

"We are pleased that the Jackson school board approved of the agreement ... and now we can move forward with a corrective action plan to assist the district in achieving full compliance," said state board Chairman Wayne Gann of Corinth.

If the state's second-largest district had lost accreditation, students would have been barred from state athletic playoffs and state competitions in activities such as band. Parents could have sought student transfers to other districts, though receiving districts would have had to approve.

Nolan said she reconsidered her vote as she was going home after Monday's meeting. She said that although she's "extremely dissatisfied" that Jackson is giving up power and may not be able to further appeal state actions, she decided losing accreditation would be worse. So she called board President Monica Gilmore-Love and said she wanted to change her vote.

"I feel the loss of the district's accreditation would be too much of a negative impact on our remaining 29,000 students," Nolan said during Tuesday's meeting.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, Southern Disability Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi said in a 2010 administrative complaint with the state that Jackson was overly punitive toward special education students, suspending them or sending them to the district's alternative school. In a parallel action, the groups sued the district for handcuffing students at the alternative school and won a settlement barring use of restraints.

The state Department of Education agreed after an investigation that Jackson's special education program broke state standards. But Jackson made little improvement. The groups sued the state in June 2012, arguing the state was required under federal law to take over Jackson's special education program and force compliance.

Jackson faced a Nov. 1 deadline to fix the problems or lose accreditation. Jackson sought more time. The state agreed to give the district until June 2013, but only if Jackson ceded some power to the state. The deal calls for Jackson Superintendent Cedric Gray and interim state Superintendent Lynn House to jointly name a special education administrator who will report directly to the state. The district must ensure employees cooperate with the administrator and agree to resolve "personnel concerns" raised by the administrator. The state will withhold federal special education money until the administrator wants to spend it.

Department of Education spokeswoman Patrice Guilfoyle said the state board is likely to consider hiring the administrator Nov. 16.

Once it was offered a deal, the Jackson district had begun to seek concessions, particularly the right to an appeal hearing if the state moved to pull Jackson's accreditation. That's why four Jackson board members voted "no" Monday and three did so Tuesday.

"What I find untenable is any agreement that denies due process," board member Beneta Burt said Tuesday. "I would never sign away any rights to due process. It's almost un-American."

But House wrote in an Oct. 26 letter that Jackson isn't due another appeal.

"JPS has already had the hearing it was entitled to," she wrote. Instead, the state Board of Education said it would consider granting Jackson a hearing, but was not obliged to.

Guilfoyle wrote in an email that if Jackson had rejected the agreement, the state would have stepped in anyway.

"MDE would have had to take enforcement action in order to fulfill our duty to make sure the district was providing a free and appropriate education to students," she wrote.