The Case of Debra P.

This chapter presents the case of Debra P. The school system argued in Debra P. that it needed to apply the diploma sanction immediately to put pressure on students to pass the test. That, it felt, would encourage students to learn their basic skills. The court acknowledged that the sanction might have that beneficial effect. One of the plaintiffs' major claims, in addition to discrimination, inadequate notice, and invalidity of the test, focused on remediation. A companion statute to the state's competency legislation requires Florida schools to provide remediation for students who fail the test. But as the failing students are disproportionately black, so are the remediation classes. In 1976, Florida enacted minimum competency legislation; in 1978, the state legislature amended the law to require that students pass the test in order to receive high school diplomas.