Florida and its government leaders have failed to provide a uniform, safe, efficient, secure and high quality education to the children of Palm Beach County, the ACLU alleges in a class action lawsuit filed today in circuit court.

The evidence? The low graduation rates at Palm Beach high schools.

"Palm Beach County is clearly not upholding its responsibility to provide a quality education to all of its students when so many of them are not graduating," ACLU senior staff attorney Chris Hansen said in a news release. "The problem in Palm Beach County is reflective of a broad national problem of poor graduation rates, and state officials must be held accountable for failing our children."

Palm Beach has had graduation rates ranging between 56 and 71 percent, depending on the methodology used. It also has seen a fairly significant achievement gap among students of different races.

A similar lawsuit filed in 2008 was tossed by a circuit judge based on a technicality.