BURBANK : School District Programs, Hiring Probed for Bias

Federal officials are investigating employment practices and bilingual programs in Burbank public schools to determine if parents of minority children and potential job applicants were victims of racial discrimination.

The Burbank Human Relations Council said Thursday that the federal action stemmed from two complaints it filed last summer.

In June, the council alleged that the Burbank Unified School District made a sudden, midyear change to a bilingual program without notifying Latino parents of children at William McKinley Elementary School. Two months later, the council maintained that district officials discriminated against minority applicants seeking administrative and teaching jobs.

Because bilingual programs are federally funded, the Department of Education has the authority to deny financing if it finds the district violated a civil rights law barring racial discrimination.