Supreme Court reviews school diversity plans

NSBA had submitted an amicus brief, along with seven other education organizations, urging the Supreme Court to allow school districts to use as a factor in assigning students to schools in an effort to promote diversity.

However, the tenor of the justices’ questioning during the oral arguments indicates there is a strong possibility the court will rule against the districts.

And if that happens, districts would be left with few remedies to promote racial diversity, ultimately speeding up the resegregation of public schools that already is occurring across the nation. A potential ruling against the districts could undermine the decades of progress that have occurred since the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

One of the cases, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1, involves a student assignment plan that allows entering ninth graders to choose three schools in order of preference. Seattle school officials then would consider several factors to assign students, with race used a “tiebreaker” to prevent a school’s racial makeup from differing from the district average by more than 15 percent.

The other case, Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, involves a school district policy aimed at ensuring a racial balance in public schools in the Louisville, Ky., area. The policy calls for black enrollment to be no less than 15 percent and no more than 50 percent of a school’s total enrollment.

The Bush administration has filed a brief in support of the parents who are suing the school districts. According to the administration’s brief, attempts to promote diversity should not include “race-conscious means.”

NSBA’s brief points out that local officials have the expertise and knowledge to adopt voluntary measures to foster racial integration and create a more racially diverse learning environment. These measures, the brief notes, are narrowly tailored to the schools’ educational goals, and the racial criteria neither operates like quotas nor unduly burdens individuals on the basis of their race.

“The development of student assignment plans involves complex decisions that have a direct bearing on the educational mission of schools,” said NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. “Local boards evaluate academic research, weigh all sides of the issue, and give substantial consideration to community values and interests before agreeing on a final decision. We believe the court should defer to the expertise of these elected board members whose primary goal is to ensure that all children receive a high-quality education.”

The brief also notes that the court traditionally has deferred to local school boards’ judgment in planning education policy for their communities.

“These cases are about allowing local school boards to decide with their communities what is in the best interests of all students,” said NSBA.General Counsel Francisco Negrón. “It is very important that the court not replace the judgment of local school boards with a federally mandated one-size-fits-all approach.”

“School districts have a compelling reason to create a diverse learning environment because it helps improve student achievement and prepares students to live and work in an increasingly diverse society,” Negrón said.

“School boards are being held more accountable than ever for the academic achievement of students in every racial subgroup,” said Thomas Goldstein, who heads Akin Gump’s Supreme Court practice and is the counsel of record for the NSBA brief. “We urge the court not to undermine local school boards in their pursuit of a racially diverse learning environment and the innovation, accountability, and educational excellence advanced by local control of public education.”

Negrón cited a recent study by Florida State University professor Douglas Harris that showed minority students in racially diverse schools performed better on standardized tests than minority students in racially isolated schools.

Without the ability to use race as a factor in assigning students to schools, school boards would have few means at their disposal to promote diversity, Negrón said.