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School district suspends use of single-gender classrooms

school bus photo
Jared and Corin via Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0
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wikimedia.org

A Michigan school district is suspending its use of separate core subject classrooms for boys and girls at an elementary school after facing prospects of more federal scrutiny.

The Lansing State Journal reports Thursday's decision by the Lansing School District's Board of Education comes year after the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into whether the classrooms complied with Title IX, the federal law barring discrimination based on sex.

Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul says federal officials indicated Willow Elementary could "go back to a full co-ed building or they could do a full investigation."

Willow Elementary implemented single-gender classrooms in 2015 amid efforts to make improvements at the low-performing school, but the district says the classrooms fell short of expectations to help students learn.