Red Bank Charter School Under Federal Investigation: Report

RED BANK, NJ — A civil rights complaint filed over the makeup of the student body at the Red Bank Charter School has prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press is reporting the investigation is into complaints that the school is violating a consent decree that requires the enrollment to have a makeup similar to those of Red Bank.

Red Bank's school population is about 7 percent white, 81 percent Hispanic and 10 percent black, but the charter school's enrollment is 50 percent white, according to the report.

In late January, days before the federal investigation began, the Red Bank Green reported that Fair Schools Red Bank and the Latino Coalition of New Jersey accused charter school officials of n “outright fabrication” of data in its pending request for a five-year charter extension.

The allegation accuses the charter school of falsifying the numbers of resident white and Hispanic children who attend private and parochial schools to mislead the state Department of Education and "to perpetuate the myth that the taxpayer-funded 200-student school reflects the pre-K through 8th grade demographics of the community,” according to the Red Bank Green report.

The charter school dismissed the allegations, the Red Bank Green reported.

Read more of the Red Bank Green report here.

Read more of the Asbury Park Press report here.

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