Flagler County's school district is still under investigation by the US Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

But school leaders are hopeful changes they are making to the way discipline is handled on campuses will help wrap that up sooner, rather than later.

In 2012 The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a complaint against the school system. The group claimed that in the 2010-2011 school year 31 percent of the in and out-of-school suspensions were African-American students. African-Americans made just 16 percent of student population at that time.

Their claim was the district was too heavy-handed with suspensions and expulsions among African-American students.

That was an eye-opener for Oliva.

One of his first actions as superintendent was to eliminate the 10-day out-of-school suspension.

The goal now, he said, is to find out, “why students are having the issues they have, get down to the root of causes and make sure that we have the support systems in place for them to be successful.”

This is a district that was still segregated heading into the 1970s.

Timothy King, the discipline czar for the school district, said the numbers don't lie.

“I'm of the opinion that numbers speak volumes, so our numbers are what they are," King said. "We are making a very concerted effort to address those numbers and give support to students who need it.”

King is the district's Student Behavior and Discipline Coordinator and is making sure there is a uniform understanding of the rules among all school campuses.

Both Oliva and King agree there is still work to be done, but vow to keep the lines of communication open with groups like the SPLC.

"When we have civic organizations and local folks that may not be directly tied with the school system willing to partner with us and provide additional resources and collaboration, we're more than willing to sit down at the table,” Oliva said.

Oliva said of the five districts listed in the SPLC complaint, he was told his is the only one working with the group to address those concerns.

Amir Whittaker, an attorney with SPLC, said that while the group is happy the district is making progress, they are still concerned with the number of African-American students receiving suspensions.

Whittaker adds he hopes to have some sort of resolution over the complaint by next month.