The Wake County school system is now facing the threat of another federal civil rights complaint.

In this letter sent today to Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Advocates for Children’s Services charge that the school system is violating the civil rights of students with Spanish-speaking parents by only sending them important notices in English. The letter cites examples of three limited English proficient parents not getting information in Spanish about their children’s long-term suspension notices and special-education services.

The groups contend that failure to provide the parents of these Hispanic students the information in their primary language violates Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act. The groups charge that Wake “has a clear legal duty” to provide documents on suspensions and special education in Spanish to Spanish-speaking parents.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST FOR WAKE'S RESPONSE

The Wake County school system didn't come out looking too well in new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

The data from the 2009-10 school year indicated that Wake's white students accounted for 57 percent of the population and received 25 percent of suspensions, while blacks make up 24 percent of the student body and received 57 percent of suspensions. It's been noted in several media reports, including this article in The Christian Science Monitor.

It was one example of how the feds say that minority students across America face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school curricula and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers.

The crime rate, suspension rate and high school dropout rate all improved this past school year in the Wake County school system.

New figures released by the state today show that Wake's dropout rate decreased from 3.53 percent in 2009-10 to 3.25 percent in 2010-11. Wake had 1,386 dropouts, down from 1,689 in the 2007-08 school year.

The report notes that Wake had among the largest 3-year dropout rate decreases among the 115 school districts.

N.C. HEAT says the recent election results show that "the people of Wake County spoke loud and clear that the political nature of the Wake County Board of Education would no longer be tolerated."

In a press release Monday, the liberal youth advocacy group says that to move Wake County forward the new school board majority should work "to create schools that are diverse in nature and allow for all students to learn and grow from such diversity."

The group says "the following actions are essential to creating equitable education for all students:

Can you imagine Wake County school board member Kevin Hill as a hippie?

That's the approach in this new campaign mailer sent late last week by Civitas Action that works on the theme that Hill supports failed policies of the past. The group photoshopped an image of Hill wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and making a peace symbol. It also shows a drawing of a VW bus.

"Just like shag carpet and leisure suits, Kevin Hill's policies were bad, and belong in the past," says the mailer from the conservative advocacy group.

Student discipline and the new middle school math policy will be on the agenda for today's meeting of the Wake County school board economically disadvantaged student performance task force.

The task force will review the changes in the revised math policy. They'll get info on Wake's suspension numbers.

Today's meeting will start at 4:30 p.m. at Moore Square Middle School, 301 S. Person St. in downtown Raleigh. The meeting was relocated to Moore Square to make it easier for task force members and staff to go to this evening's Principal of the Year ceremony at Marbles Kids Museum.

The Wake County Republican Party is promoting reductions in transportation costs and decreases in student suspension rates and school violence to encourage supporters heading into Tuesday's school board election.

In the election edition of The Elephant Express on Wednesday, Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant credits the school board majority's elimination of the diversity policy for a $7.3 million reduction in transportation costs over the past two years.

Bryant also points to a 43 percent reduction in long-term suspensions, a 16 percent drop in short-term suspensions and a 54 percent drop in school crime figures.

The Wake County Republican Party is calling votes for Democratic-backed school board candidates support for "the failed policies and programs of the past."

Today in the latest issue of The Elephant Express, Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant pushes heavily on the diversity issue as being a difference between the Wake County school board candidates backed by both political parties.

"The only certainty a parent has that their child won’t attend 3 schools in 5 years will come by not going back to the policies of the old board!" Bryant writes. "Let’s just call it like it was. These people (Democrats), who claim to be concerned for the students, were trying to bus children all across the county to balance out the family incomes of the children attending any one school."

It shouldn't be a surprise who the Independent is endorsing for the Wake County school board.

In the latest issue of the liberal weekly out today, the Indy is backing Kevin Hill in District 3, Keith Sutton in District 4, Jim Martin in District 5, Christine Kushner in District 6 and Susan Evans in District 8. It matches the endorsements made by the Wake County Democratic Party and Wake NCAE.

"If all five win, the 5-4 conservative majority on the board will be ousted, replaced by a new 5-4 majority of moderate candidates," the Indy writes. "It can happen if the voters who believe in public education and want every child in the county to get a good one take time to vote. Two years ago, they stayed away in droves, and they let the tea party win. We've seen what followed."

Republicans and Democrats are going after each other in another round of squabbling about the Wake County school board elections.

In this week's issue of the Elephant Express, Wake County Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Bryant responds to state Democratic Party Chairman David Parker's Aug. 20 call to action to his party's members.

Parker blames the changes in Wake schools on the "vicious fanaticism" of those carrying on Jesse Helms' legacy. In the process, Parker invokes the Tea Party, the Koch brothers and Wake County Commissioners Chairman Paul Coble.