Ibrahim Mumid, et al. v. Abraham Lincoln High School, et al.
Lincoln High in Minneapolis is a private school specifically designed to teach immigrant children. So when 13 immigrant students began finishing up their studies there, they expected to understand the English language and culture and to have opportunities waiting for them. But some can barely spell their own names in English. Two of the students graduated late and the other 11 either dropped out or are graduating a few years late, says Ladan Yusaf, executive director of CrossingBarriers, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization. They sued Lincoln High, which is operated by the Institute for New Americans (INA), for not providing an adequate education, pointing to the fact that only 17 percent of students at Lincoln passed the Minnesota Basic Standards Test.
"The lawsuit challenges the practice of the Minneapolis School District of using Abraham Lincoln High School as a warehouse for immigrant high school-aged students," Daniel Shulman of Gray, Plant & Mooty, who is representing the immigrants, told City Pages. "Students sat in mainstream classrooms for years, not understanding what was being said, or what was being taught."
Paula Weseman Theisen of Meagher & Geer is representing Abraham Lincoln High School. She says the school did not discriminate and there is no merit to the lawsuit.
"Learning English and compressing 12 years of education into the one to four years most of them have before they turn 21 presents a challenge for these students," she says, noting that "the graduation rate that the plaintiffs quoted in their complaint is inaccurate and does not reflect the actual performance of the school's students."
The case was pending at press time.
- Aimee Groth
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