Larry Crain, Attorney for plaintiffs Parents’ Choice Tennessee who are suing the Williamson County Board of Education, argued on Friday that the Defendant’s motion to dismiss should be denied in part because the state’s “Divisive Concepts” appeals process is flawed.
Attorney for WCS, Lisa Carson, argued on Friday that Parents’ Choice had not exhausted all administrative options before bringing grievances to the court and that they had ignored state law that requires complainants to “file a complaint with the LEA or public charter school in which the allegation arose.”
Judge Michael Binkley appeared to side with Carson stating, “I have to follow what the law says. I can’t just make it up as I go.”
Trisha Lucente, speaking with The Tennessee Conservative yesterday on behalf of Parents’ Choice, said that as plaintiffs, part of their response to this allegation is that the administrative process is biased because all complaints go to Penny Schwinn who is the final arbiter under the state’s appeal process. “And she’s the one that issued waivers for Wit & Wisdom,” said Lucente.
