Students, district reach settlement over 360 High School closure

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Nearly three months after families filed a federal lawsuit over the controversial closure of 360 High School, a settlement has been reached between the families, school district and education department.

Families and staff at 360 High School and Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex learned in February state education leaders planned to close 360 High School and merge it into the JSEC, spurring students to walk out of class in protest .

While students felt blindsided by the news, the R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education had been working since the 2022-2023 school year to redesign the buildings into a new facility called the Juanita Sanchez Life Sciences Institute.

District leaders argued the redesigned school would be designed to prepare students for jobs in medical and biotechnology fields. Students were given the option to remain at Juanita Sanchez or move onto a different school. More than two dozen staff members were given displacement notices.

The lawsuit, which was filed two months after the closure was announced , claimed that the Providence Public School District and R.I. Department of Education plan violated the the Federal Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974, which protects access to equal educational opportunities for multilingual learner students.

The state-run school district denied violating students’ rights, and according to the settlement, “no finding of liability has been made.”

Families in the lawsuit claimed they chose 360 High School because of the support given to Spanish-speaking students. According to the agreement, all multilingual learners will have their native language assessed “in order to inform the most effective approach to their learning,” and course materials will be made available in the student’s preferred language “to reduce language barriers to their successful participation.”

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The agreement will not reverse the closure, and the school will still follow the redesign plan. The agreement also calls for the new school to operate as one entity within the district, “with a single school code for administrative and reporting purposes.”

However, the agreement stipulates that 360 High School staff will have an opportunity to apply for jobs at the new unified school. According to the settlement, there’s a two-week window for people to apply.

The agreement also noted that staff members who were displaced could retain their seniority if they were offered and accept a job at the new unified school.

Students will also get naming rights to the unified school, according to the agreement. The principal will conduct a survey to see if a majority of students want to rename the school. (Formally renaming the school building is under the jurisdiction of the Providence City Council, however.)

The agreement was filed Monday. All parties agreed to issuing a joint statement within two weeks of executing the agreement.

A judge still needs to sign off on the agreement to make it official.

Alexandra Leslie ( aleslie@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook .

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