Second federal agency investigating Toledo school system

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A second federal agency is investigating one of Ohio’s largest school systems for possible civil rights violations.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio are looking at differences in the ways Toledo Public Schools disciplines racial minority students.

Justice Department spokesman Mike Tobin tells The Blade newspaper that he believes the investigation was prompted by complaints from community members.

The probe follows a 2010 U.S. Department of Education investigation into complaints that the district doesn’t provide black students with equal resources to prepare them for college or careers.

The newspaper reports that a July 12 Justice Department letter informs the district that the probe doesn’t mean the schools have broken any laws.