McCaskey East High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has abandoned its pilot “mentoring” program that that separated students by race and gender in their homeroom classrooms following much controversy and negative media attention.
Pedro Rivera, the superintendent, continues to defend the segregation, saying, “The intent…by educators was to serve students. They identified a need and were innovative and forward-thinking around how they were going to provide a quality education to kids here at the high school.” However, the Lancaster school district rescinded the pilot program after “blistering” criticism of the blatant segregation and racial stereotyping. Unfortunately, few pointed out the sex stereotyping and segregation, which is a violation of Title IX.
The Feminist Majority Foundation is currently working to rescind the 2006 Bush-era Title IX regulations that make it significantly easier to allow single-sex classrooms in public schools (pdf).
