Attorney: Lawsuit Coming This Week in Wake of D303 Grade Level Center Vote

Parents upset regarding a recent vote by the District 303 school board to create “” from two neighbor schools will seek to have the program halted in a lawsuit expected to be filed this week.

Attorney Timothy Dwyer, who has been retained by a parents' group, said that questions remain about whether the plan complies with No Child Left Behind Act regulations for restructuring a school that is not meeting standards.

“The real issue today is whether the district complied with the Act … If not, the issue is where do we go from here?” Dwyer said.

When reached for comment Jim Blaney, the district director of School and Community Relations, said that he could not comment until district officials had a chance to review the lawsuit.

“We haven’t seen it and wouldn’t be able to comment without being able to see what exactly is in it,” Blaney said.

In the vote earlier this month, the school board enacted a plan that would combine students from into two new schools structured along grade levels. In the same meeting in which that vote took place, the board also voted down a measure that would have allowed area parents to opt out of the program.

Just prior to the vote, Dwyer told the board that a lawsuit was likely if the program was approved.

On Monday, Dwyer said the problem began because of failing academic-yearly progress standards at Richmond school. has struggled with meeting AYP standards but has shown recent improvement. He also said that the district had the plan "in their pocket for a long time."

"I’m not sure what the answer is but I think the dialogue should take more than five and a half weeks," he said.

First publicly announced last month, the program drew questions and criticism from parents. Hundreds attended information sessions and school board meetings in the following weeks.