Schools Activist Files New Civil Rights Complaint

Veteran schools activist Marta Guembes, who last year ruffled feathers with her one-woman investigation of Portland Public Schools' services for Spanish-speaking parents, filed a fourth federal civil-rights complaint against the district on Monday.

The new complaint alleges discrimination by PPS against parents of English-language learners and says the district lacks adequate translation and interpretation services for parents who don't speak English, according to a letter Guembes sent to members of the Portland School Board.

Guembes filed a separate complaint against the district last fall, after a Buckman principal suspended a kindergarten student who "assaulted" a teacher. In December, the feds said they had grounds to review the complaint.

Guembes also lodged a similar complaint against the district last year, and a fourth complaint in 2008.

A spokesman for the school district says PPS knows about the complaint but hasn't seen what has been filed. "I can't comment on that until I see it," says Matt Shelby, a spokesman for the school district.