Chapter Twelve: School Desegregation

Overview
Historical Background
Racial segregation sanctioned by law persisted in the United States until the mid 1950s and 60s
when the courts took a firm position that separation of children based on race was
constitutionally impermissible. Before this, the view of separate but equal was considered
acceptable, and was even found constitutional in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. In the
landmark 1954 Brown case, separate but equal was struck down, but it took considerable time
before true integration began.
Racial Balances or Racial Quotas
Court cases stemming from the Brown v. Board of Education created a movement to ensure
school authorities were not rejecting minority students due to race. Quotas for race were
developed as a starting point.
One-Race Schools
In some circumstances certain schools remain largely of one race. An option majority-tominority transfer provision has been recognized as a useful part of every desegregation plan.
Remedial Altering of Attendance Zones
In some cases, drastic gerrymandering (altering) of school districts and attendance zones has
occurred to integrate schools. This type of pairing and grouping of noncontiguous school zones
is permissible tool to promote integration.
Transportation of Students
The scope of permissible transportation of students has not and cannot be defined by the court
with precision. No rigid guidelines to student transportation can be given for application to the
thousands of problems presented. However, the courts did determine that the equitable remedial
power of the courts should be described by terms such as reasonable, workable, and effective.
Intra District Segregation/Attendance Zones
In general, school officials and the courts view the altering of school districts attendance zones
as a useful and permissible tool to alleviate segregated schools. However, these plans were not
always viewed as acceptable.
Busing and Desegregation
The overarching goal of busing students was to achieve racial balance, and it did prove an
effective means of achieving desegregated schools. Parents and taxpayers consider busing to be
a threat to neighborhood school concept, time-consuming for students, and added expense.
Parents and taxpayers advocated that money be expended on improving neighborhood schools.
Several states passed anti-busing legislations to prohibit the use of busing, but on the whole,
busing was considered a viable measure to achieve desegregated schools.
Free Transfer and Freedom of Choice Program
Many districts adopted these plans as a means to avoid desegregation, which allow students to
transfer from a school where they were a minority to a school where they are the majority.
De Jure Segregationsegregation initiated or supported by government action with
intent to discriminate that results in creating or increasing segregation. It is always illegal

De Facto Segregation--segregation where a substantial number of students enrolled in a

school present a racial or ethnic minority. The situation came about naturally without
district design by the school board. This type of segregation is not ideal but permissible.

Faculty Desegregation
With the development of the desegregation of schools based on student population and race, the
staff or faculties of schools remained largely segregated still. Any desegregation plans of staff
were very slow to develop and the courts had no test to to be applied to the situation. This
caused very extensive delays and slow progress.
Latino Students and Racial Diversity
Challenges faced by Latino students are often a result of language barriers. No Child Left
Behind has produced invalid and unreliable assessments of achievement for students who have
not mastered English. Failing to provide adequate English instruction to English language
learners is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI.
No Child Left Behind and Civil Rights
NCLB focuses on closing the achievement gap, improving student achievement, and changing
the culture of schools in America. There is a disagreement as to whether the act advances civil
rights or whether it creates greater disadvantages for minority students. Those in favor believe it
improves the academic achievement of racial or ethnic subgroups because it focuses on
populations that have been traditionally underserved. Those opposed to the act believe measures
like high stakes testing place students farther behind.
Unitary Status
School districts across the country are currently filing for unitary status, in which school officials
are claiming that good faith efforts have been initiated to achieve desegregated schools;
therefore, they should be relieved of court supervision in desegregation measures. The Supreme
Court held that the federal courts regulatory control over an unlawful segregated district is
limited to the necessary time needed to remedy past discrimination.
Landmark Cases, Pertinent Legislation, and Supporting Material
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Supreme Court held that a Louisiana statue providing for equal but separate accommodations
for white and colored races on passenger trains was not illegal. Plessy challenged the law as he
was arrested for entering a coach designated for whites. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the
Louisianas law was not discriminatory.
Briggs v. Elliott (1942)
One of the five cases combined into Brown in which the district court ruled South Carolina
requiring separate schools for the white and color races did not violate the fourteenth
amendment.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The U.S. Supreme Court declared separate schools are inherently unequal. The U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that segregation in the public schools was a denial of due process of law granted by
the Fifth Amendment.
Brown v. Board of Education II (1955)
The Supreme Court ruled Brown II to ensure proper implementation of the ruling in Brown I.
School authorities were given the task for the implementation of the Brown ruling. By the 1960s

the Supreme Court saw concern at the pace of the implementation and became more aggressive
by ordering immediate desegregation of schools.
Rogers v. Paul (1965)
A case which a school system adopted a grade-a-year plan. The plan did not offer range of
courses for students of color as the plan started in lower grades. The court rules immediate action
of colored students with a availability of admittance into courses offered at white schools.
Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968)
The case gave school boards accountability in creating systems of admission into school on a
non-racial basis. The Supreme Court did not support freedom of choice plans that allowed
students to select their own school. Every school district in the country was obligated to operate
only unitary schools. This case set the precedent that a school districts remedial plan is to be
judged by its effectiveness and affirmed the broad discretionary powers of the federal courts to
implement desegregation plans.
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1970)
This was a landmark case on the issue of busing. Historically, the courts have viewed busing as
an effective means of achieving desegregated schools, but they have been met with opposition.
This case struck down a North Carolina law prohibiting busing children to achieve integration.
The court held that schools may bus students, even if it is to avoid de facto segregation. The
Supreme Court held that the anti-busing initiative would result in impermissible racial
classification of students for the purpose of achieving segregated schools.
Crawford v. Board of Education of Los Angeles (1982)
The Supreme Court upheld a state constitutional amendment barring the use of mandatory busing
except where there was evidence of Fourteenth Amendment violations.
Lau et al. v. Nichols (1974)
Schools must make provisions for non-English speaking students. Students who are deprived of
English instruction are denied an opportunity for meaningful education.
Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell (1972)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts regulatory control over an unlawful
segregated district is limited to the necessary time needed to remedy past discrimination.
Application for Administrators and School Districts
Key Points to Remember Regarding School Desegregation
1. De jure segregation is illegal and will not be supported by the courts.
2. Separate but equal is always inherently unequal. Even involuntary segregation denies
minority students equal protection under the law.
3. Lack of funds is not an excuse for a segregated school.
4. Since the beginning of this century, there has been a trend toward re-segregated schools,
with blacks attending inner city schools and whites attending more affluent, suburban
schools.
5. Court supervision may be lifted in part or in whole where a school district can show that
it has acted in good faith to remedy past discrimination.
6. Once unitary status has been achieved and confirmed, the school district is not required to
seek remedies in situations involving segregation that evolve that are beyond the districts
control.

7. Race may be used as a factor in university admissions decisions, but points systems or
quotas are disallowed.