Georgia Officials Get Wary Look in Appeal Over Race Bias Pact

An Eleventh Circuit panel seemed leery Wednesday of derailing a Black teacher’s bid to hold seven Georgia school officials accountable for their alleged noncompliance with race-based recruitment and hiring requirements in a job discrimination settlement agreement.

At issue in oral arguments before the Atlanta-based court was whether the officials were properly denied qualified immunity on Lana Foster’s claims under 42 U.S.C. §1981, a Ku Klux Klan era law that ensures Black individuals have equal rights in making and enforcing contracts.

Foster says she and her family experienced decades of horrific discrimination and retaliation while serving the Echols County school system. ...