PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Legal Services have sued the Providence public schools for what they say is an effort to hide information about violations of the rights of English language learners.
The groups say the schools are obligated to release U.S. Department of Justice documents identifying the violations under public records access laws.
The lawsuit asks for the immediate release of the requested records, a fine and attorney's fees.
The violations led to a settlement agreement between the 24,000-student school system and the U.S. Department of Justice in August 2018.
The school system previously refused to release the documents, saying among other things, that the records were "protected by the attorney-client privilege."
The school department has not responded to a request for comment.
