Facing pressure and a potential lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, a small Missouri agreed to discontinue voluntary, single-sex classes in its schools. The Adrian R-III school district is not the first to come into the ACLU fight over single-sex classrooms since the U.S. Department of Education approved the practice under specific conditions in 2006. Single-sex classrooms have been the source of debate between government leaders and educators for some time, as studies supporting the practice have been somewhat inconclusive, but concerns over equal rights for both genders have come into question.
This CBS News video discusses single-sex schools.
Why Missouri Began Offering Single-Sex Classes
According to a report at Reuters, the Missouri school district began offering single-sex classes to certain grades in their schools this year. Students in grades 6 through 8 were the primary recipients of this choice, although some higher grades received single-sex class options as well. Class options included math and communication art, according to St. Louis Today. The superintendent of Adrian schools, Kirk Eidson, said the decision was made in the interest of students since some research indicates that students may perform better in single-sex classrooms.
“There were some behavioral issues that impacted learning,” Eidson explained to Reuters in regards to the co-ed classes. Eidson added that students who chose to participate in single-sex classrooms this year were doing better with fewer classroom