The\u00a0complaint<\/a>\u00a0details that the school closure plan is the latest in PPS\u2019s decades-long failure to provide quality and equal educational opportunity to students living in Pittsburgh\u2019s Black neighborhoods. Based on the flawed metric of utilization, the school closure plan will displace upwards of\u202f6,000 students\u2014with a disproportionate number of Black students being forced to bear the academic and educational harms of school closures. At the same time, neither PPS nor the Board have outlined how educational services provided at the schools slated for closure will be provided at students\u2019 reassigned schools.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Board and the Pittsburgh Public School District were repeatedly put on notice that basing school closures on utilization is flawed, serves no educational purpose, and would disproportionately harm Black students. Despite this notice and clear advocacy from the community, the Board voted to plow ahead with its discriminatory plan and endanger the education of thousands of children in Pittsburgh. It is now up to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to carry out its mission and protect the civil rights and educational futures of Pittsburgh\u2019s Black community,\u201d said\u00a0Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, Director of Advancement Project\u2019s Opportunity to Learn Program.<\/p>\n \u201cMy children love Miller. It is Pittsburgh\u2019s ONLY African-centered academy, providing a school culture that is especially enriching to our family and community. At Miller, my children are taught principles of pride and self-determination. They learn about the history and specific resilience of the Hill District they call home. They are excited about school and their classes. They feel safe and nurtured. There are no plans for another African-centered academy anywhere in the district. Taking away neighborhood schools is violent to the students and thwarts community growth. The Hill needs all the growth it can muster. Making parents who are resourced strapped have to travel further to visit their children\u2019s school or taking away their ability to walk them to\/from school before\/after work is another hardship. Communities most in need are losing public education options and I don\u2019t understand that as a plan. The district celebrated this, but to me, it\u2019s failure. They failed us,\u201d said\u00a0Naomi Chambers, Education Rights Network & Parent of Complainant.<\/p>\n \u201cThe District and the Board have been steadily closing schools in Black neighborhoods for decades. Every time, they tell us they must do it because it will increase equity or efficiency, but Pittsburgh\u2019s Black communities haven\u2019t seen those benefits and we aren\u2019t fooled. We hope this complaint forces PPS and the Board to listen,\u201d said\u00a0Angel Gober, 412 Justice.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a mother, it is my responsibility to protect my children from any and everything that will harm them, including this decision. At the end of the day, they are paying the price. Removing them from a school environment they do well in, eliminating the STEAM program they benefit from, and moving them into a school that counts them among 800 students. This plan is supposed to create opportunities for my kids, but from where I\u2019m sitting, it\u2019s taking them away,\u201d said\u00a0Jazlynn Worthy,\u00a0Education Rights Network & Parent of Complainant.<\/p>\n \u201cAll five of my kids went to Manchester, but now because the Board voted to permanently close Manchester, my youngest will be the only one who won\u2019t be able to graduate from there. It\u2019s four blocks from my house and I can watch my kids walk to school. If the District closes Manchester, I\u2019m moving my son to the charter school in our neighborhood because I don\u2019t feel comfortable with him walking over a mile to get to the school he will be reassigned to,\u201d said\u00a0Jala Rucker, Education Rights Network & Parent of Complainant.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n Advancement Project\u202f<\/a>\u00a0is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America\u2019s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. Visit\u00a0www.advancementproject.org<\/a>\u00a0to learn more.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/education2-1024x683.jpg\")
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