This dissertation was designed to determine the practices used by selected school districts to cope with the changes stemming from school integration, and to determine the effectiveness of these practices as perceived by central-staff administrators. Selected large city school districts with enrollments of 30,000 students and above, located in the six southern states under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, were selected for this study. These districts, of which there were 34, also had to be under a federal court desegregation order to be included. Central-staff administrators who were generally knowledgeable of their school districts' desegregation efforts were asked to complete a 31 item survey instrument to record their perceptions of effectiveness of their districts' desegregation practices. The thrust of the survey was to determine the effectiveness of desegregation practices involving students, teachers, and administrators in each of the districts. The study also included a comprehensive review of the literature with respect to desegregation practices and the suggestions and recommendations of various authorities. Just over 90% of the selected school districts responded. The survey data revealed that the most effective desegregation practice for students is the provision of alternative schools and programs to assist students unable to cope with the regular school environment.