NEW ORLEANS- Jefferson Parish public schools discriminate against Latino students by letting employees harass students about their citizenship and by failing to provide translators for parents who speak little English, the Southern Poverty Law Center says in a federal civil rights complaint.

Officials at West Jefferson High School neither took action against a teacher who called a student a

“wetback” during class nor moved the boy to another class, according to information on its website. It said the boy transferred from West Jefferson because of widespread hostility.

School staffers often laughed or groaned before hanging up on people who called speaking Spanish as part of a four-week study of Spanish-language services by the Equal Rights Center in Washington, staff attorney Jennifer Coco said Wednesday.

The Jefferson Parish Public

School System did not respond to specific allegations in an emailed statement.

“We are disappointed that the Southern Poverty Law Center has chosen to file a complaint … For the past two years, serving English Language Learners has been a priority for the Jefferson Parish Public School System. Our data supports academic gains among 3rd-8th-grade Limited English Proficient students over a four-year period,” it said.

It said it has a Spanish-language

version of its policy and procedures manual. “In addition, Spanish- speaking personnel are available for families when needed,” it said.

Coco said documents filed for No Child Left Behind show that the district has only two Spanish- language liaisons even though about 7,000 students – 17 percent of last year’s enrollment – are Latino. Nearly half of those students, or 8 percent of the total student body, have limited English, according to the law center.

“The school system has an open

policy of demanding Social Security numbers during enrollment and before graduation” even though courts have repeatedly found such policies illegal, Coco said.

“It is simply irrelevant whether a student seeking enrollment in a public school system is a U.S. citizen,” she said.

Federal laws require schools that get federal money to provide parents information in a language they understand, and not limit enrollment or graduation to citizens or legal immigrants, the center said.