The Southern Poverty Law Center says federal authorities are investigating claims of discrimination against students with disabilities in Georgia public schools.

The center said Thursday the investigation comes after it filed a complaint with the Department of Justice in November claiming that the Georgia Department of Education used a funding formula that encourages districts to segregate students with disabilities to receive more funding.

The Department of Justice and state education officials didn't immediately comment.

The center says the school funding formula, which dates to 1985, provides school districts with more money when students with disabilities are taught in segregated classrooms than when they are taught in classrooms that include students without disabilities.

Attorneys with the Montgomery, Ala.-based center say the practice leads to discrimination from teachers and other students.

Tags: segregation, discrimination, education. schools, Southern Poverty Law