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SEATTLE DECISION: SCHOOL INTEGRATION SURVIVES

SEATTLE DECISION: SCHOOL INTEGRATION SURVIVES. WHAT’S NEXT? John C. Brittain Chief Counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. CAUSE OF ACTION. EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE U.S. CONSTITUION- FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT RACE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WHITE STUDENTS.

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SEATTLE DECISION: SCHOOL INTEGRATION SURVIVES

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  1. SEATTLE DECISION:SCHOOL INTEGRATION SURVIVES WHAT’S NEXT? John C. Brittain Chief Counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

  2. CAUSE OF ACTION EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE U.S. CONSTITUION- FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT RACE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WHITE STUDENTS

  3. Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (“PICS” or “Seattle”) Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (“Jefferson” or “Louisville”) TWO CASES: ONE DECISION“Seattle”

  4. JEFFERSON / LOUISVILLE Demographics and School Assignment Plan • 97,000 Students • 66% White, 34% Black • Elementary students assigned to schools • Transfer plan in zone – a choice • Goal 15%⇧15%⇩ = balanced ratio • Black 50% max. and 15% min. in each school • Racial tiebreaker • Majority to minority

  5. SEATTLEDemographics and SchoolAssignmentPlan • 50,000 students • 39% White, 61% Other • Assigned to neighborhood school • 10% ⇧or ⇩ city minority average in each school = Goal/Balanced Ratio (White 31- 51% & Non-White 49% - 69%) • Rising 9th graders have choice of high school • 80-90% received 1st choice • 89-97% received 2nd choice • Only 3% (~ 300 students) of affected by use of race

  6. QUESTION PRESENTED • Does the US Constitution prohibit schools boards from using race-conscious criteria in a limited way to achieve racial diversity and integration in K-12 schools?

  7. 4-1-4 Justices Court Opinion APPLIED STRICT SCRUTINY TEST “Roberts 4”+ Kennedy (majority)Narrow Tailoring Districts did not exhaust race neutral means= UNCONSTITUTIONAL

  8. 4-1-4 Justices MORE STRICT SCRUTINY “Roberts 4”  Compelling interest Use of race only allowed for: • Intentional Discrimination, or • Higher Education Admissions = Race ought not to apply to K-12 school assignment (unconstitutional)

  9. 4-1-4 Justices Court Opinion “Breyer 4” + Kennedy (majority)  Compelling Interest • Racial Diversity OK/Constitutional • But “Breyer 4” and Kennedy have separate criteria on how districts may pursue diversity = Limited Use of Race in K-12

  10. Kennedy Opinion

  11. SUMMARY OF VOTES • Roberts 4 + Kennedy = Majority Seattle and Louisville plans unconstitutional • Breyer 4 + Kennedy = Majority School boards may pursue diversity with consciousness of race (but limited)

  12. Kennedy’s Guide to Integration Plans WITH Consciousness of RACE • Select sites for new schools • Draw attendance zones • Resources for special programs • Recruit students and faculty • Track enrollment and other performance statistics by race

  13. 4-1-4 Justices “Breyer 4”  Narrowing Tailoring Districts exhausted other means, so needed to use race in school assignment = Constitutional

  14. Breyer Dissent-p.68 • Racial Isolation: De facto = De jure • Integration v. Exclusion • No stigma in choice plans • Seattle and Louisville have history of past segregation—need continuing remedies • State race-based plans at risk (e.g. AR, CT, MA, NJ, pg. 61) • Straying from jurisprudence and spirit of law

  15. LEGACY OF BROWN It (Brown) was the promise of true racial equality—not as a matter of fine words on paper, but as a matter in everyday life in the Nation’s cities and schools. -- Justice Breyer Parents Involved in Community Schools, Petitioner v. Seattle School District No. 1, et al.; Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education. 551 U.S. ___ (2007)

  16. Brown… 53 Years Later • Resegregation prevalent • Racially isolated schools • Concentrated poverty • Integration beneficial, passé • Non-integration preferred • Back to separate but equal • Urban v. Suburban education • New Jim Crow color line • Resource and teacher inequality

  17. Brown… 53 Years Later • Emphasis on class more dominant than race. • De facto segregation legal(except in CT and NJ state law) • Large achievement gaps • No real remedy for inequalities

  18. “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk, (1903) Still applies in 21st Century

  19. Moving Forward • School integration plans with Constitutional muster • Legislative Fix –address de facto education inequality • Public awareness on value of diversity and integration • International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) — ”Special Measures” • No Child Left Behind Act

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