This article addresses important legal issues surrounding voluntary school integration plans and explores policy and practice implications of the "Seattle" and "Louisville" cases. School policy guidance for how school districts should create or change their voluntary integration policies is discussed. Further discussion reveals what some school…

This manual was written to help guide education stakeholders--including parents, students, school board members, community activists, administrators, policymakers and attorneys--in their efforts to promote racial diversity and avoid racial isolation in suburban school systems. Critical information on the current legal, political and policy issues…

This article discusses the interpretations of the court's ruling in "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District 1." The decision handed down June 28, the last day of the Supreme Court's term, does not prohibit school districts from voluntarily integrating schools as long as the school district meets certain legal…

This past June, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court declared integration plans in Louisville and Seattle unconstitutional because of their focus on race as one factor in assigning students to schools. The Court's ruling in the "Parents Involved in Community Schools" v. "Seattle School District No. 1" and…

In this article, the author profiles Columbus Magnet School in Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1979, Columbus School was an inner-city neighborhood school with an 87% minority population. In order to comply with federal desegregation guidelines, the school was compelled to either integrate the student body to reflect that of the larger community or close…

This paper discusses the potential of individual States for encouraging voluntary desegregation at the local level. Desegregation history and State strategies in five States--California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Washington--are closely examined. In all of the States studied, State laws provide the State agency with considerable…

In this updated report on the Riverside Unified School District, the district continues with its integration efforts including major program development. Over the three years of integration, performance of all children from the three major race groups has improved. In the primary grades, there has been a general trend toward higher reading…

Parent and community participation in an exciting magnet program has allowed Tucson (Arizona) to desegregate its school system without an undue amount of disruption. (Author)

Reports on teacher, principal, parent, and student reactions to a desegregation plan implemented in Buffalo, New York, which permits teachers to choose the magnet schools in which they desire to teach and parents to select their children's schools. (GC)

The U.S. Supreme Court declined an opportunity last week to rule on the constitutionality of a school district's policy of weighing race as a factor in assigning students to schools. It has sidestepped a potentially thorny sequel to its 2003 rulings on affirmative action in higher education and left several lower-court rulings as the best…

Programs developed for Chicago area high schools to alleviate problems caused by rapid changes in the ethnic character of the student population are described. The involvement of the entire community is recommended, and actions for Parent Teacher Associations are offered. (FG)

This article presents research on the school choice processes and practices in a large urban district on the West Coast. It shares the stories of three mothers' experiences with public school choice and tells how, through the process of choosing schools for their children, they became participants in the inequities and inequalities of the…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Charting a New Course toward Racial Integration: Districts Seek Legal Routes to Capture the Benefits of Diversity (Brigid Schulte); (2) Voluntary Integration: Two Views--(a)…

The Milwaukee School System responded to a court finding of segregation by structuring a program of community involvement to help in the task of planning and implementing school desegregation. The city-wide planning group came to be called the Committee of 100. The central thesis of this paper is that the quality of community involvement is not…

This volume examines ten communities with histories of lengthy desegregation litigation in order to gain insight into the perceived legal adequacy and practical effectiveness of various desegregation strategies from the point of view of the Federal courts. A conceptual model of the judicial review of desegregation plans is given in diagram form…