The Boston Globe: Finding Exclusionary Policies in Boston Public Schools, Hubie Jones Organized a Task Force That Changed Education Nationwide
In honor of Black History Month, The Boston Globe took a look back at the historic investigative report led by Dean Emeritus Hubie Jones that exposed widespread exclusionary practices in Boston Public Schools. The report, which was released in 1970, found that approximately 10,000 children had been pushed out of the Boston school system – primarily students who were Black or Latino, had emotional challenges or disabilities, were pregnant, or were not fluent in English. The findings led to new state laws that required schools to offer bilingual education and to develop and implement individual educational plans for youth with special needs. They also led to a landmark federal law guaranteeing children the right to a “free, appropriate” public education which exists today as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Jones was a “trained social worker who organized a work stoppage during the civil rights movement,” and after his time as head of the Roxbury Multi-Service Center, he became dean of Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW). Jones was a formative leader for the School and held the post for seventeen years. Today, he continues his urban mission and civic leadership as founder and president of the Boston Children’s Chorus and an involved member of numerous organizations serving the Boston area. In honor of his legacy, the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at BUSSW annually presents the Hubie Jones Lecture in Urban Health.
Excerpted from “Hubie Jones exposed Boston Public Schools for its exclusion of thousands of students with special needs” by Bianca Vázquez Toness, published in The Boston Globe:
More than 50 years after taking on BPS, Jones still is trying to improve educational outcomes for children in Roxbury. His latest organization, Higher Ground, works with three elementary schools to provide wrap-around services for students and find housing for homeless students and their families.
“I’m still at this stuff,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”