May 6, 2025
Kila Posey and The Club After School, LLC, are pleased to announce the resolution of their legal action against Atlanta Public Schools (APS), filed under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act and related laws. The suit was filed on January 23, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
APS has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle the matter.
Ms. Posey and her family live in Atlanta, Georgia, where her children attend school, and where she operates The Club, a business that provides after-care services for schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
According to the Complaint, Ms. Posey learned in 2020 of a practice at Mary Lin Elementary School, where her daughters were to attend, to assign students to classes based upon their race, creating designated “black classes.” Ms. Posey, who is African-American, objected to the practice, insisting that her children be assigned based upon their individual learning needs, not their races. The family made internal complaints to the APS administration and ultimately filed formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
According to the Complaint, two of The Club’s contracts were terminated in the wake of Ms. Posey’s advocacy. The suit alleges that these actions, and others, were taken in direct retaliation for her objections, in violation of federal anti-discrimination law. According to the complaint, APS’s actions resulted in significant financial losses to the business. The Complaint further alleges that APS refused to produce certain documents related to the matter, in violation of Georgia’s Open Records Act.
Ms. Posey issued the following statement: “We are pleased to finally bring this difficult chapter to a resolution. Our family and business suffered greatly as a result of our decision to speak up for our children. After a long legal battle, we are glad to finally move forward as a family and a business.”
Ms. Posey and the Club were represented in the action by James Radford and Jake Knanishu of Radford Scott LLP, a Decatur, Georgia law firm specializing in employment and civil rights law. James Radford issued the following statement: “In order for the anti-discrimination laws to have force and meaning, people need to know that they can speak out without fear of retaliation. This case shows that there is an enforceable legal remedy for those who are punished for raising an objection.”
The case is Posey, et al. v. Atlanta Public Schools, et al., Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-00341-MLB (N.D. Ga.)
