This North Texas School District Is Being Sued for Violating Voting Rights

The Frisco school district's at-large system for electing trustees discriminates against the rapidly growing Asian population in the area, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. The voting-rights lawsuit is the third in a year facing a North Texas school district, all brought forward by the Brewer Storefront, the pro-bono affiliate of the firm Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, which has sued several other districts and cities over voting rights violations. Frisco has rapidly changed over the past 15 years as it's been one of the fastest growing communities in the state. More than 70 percent of the district's 13,284 students were white in the 2003-04 school year, according to state data. Now FISD has about 60,000 students enrolled, of which about 42 percent are white, 29 percent Asian and 13.5 percent Hispanic. "So less than half of the children in public schools are white but they're not able to elect any candidates of color?" said William Brewer, a partner at the storefront. "The voting is clearly polarized in Frisco."   Continue reading...