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…

The project is designed to support the school district's voluntary desegregation plan by providing a highly individualized program to attract pupils from outside the school boundaries. A Bilingual-Bicultural Learning Center and supportive instruction personnel were installed in the school to help with the variety of needs of the individual…

This booklet was written to describe and evaluate the role of magnet schools in desegregation plans. The author presents case studies of two moderately successful magnet schools, the Martin Luther King Middle School in Boston and the Clifton Multi-Age Magnet School in Cincinnati. He then discusses magnet schools in the context of desegregation and…

To reduce ethnic isolation and provide a richer education for all seem to be goals and achievements in a major school district. Here is an encouraging model. (Editor/RK)

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)

The desegregation effectiveness of voluntary plans with magnet schools was compared to that of mandatory reassignment plans with magnet schools using a sample of 20 school districts. Results show that a voluntary magnet plan will provide more long-term interracial exposure than a mandatory plan with magnet components. (SLD)

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)…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effect of termination of funding on a magnet-school program. The federally funded program was implemented in Forrest City, Arkansas, to eliminate racial imbalance in the elementary schools. The program was based on the assumption that with enough time and financial assistance, racial…

In Northern Ireland, groups of school children, parents, teachers, and principals are supporting religiously integrated schools. This paper gives an account of this movement and the history behind Catholic/Protestant tensions in Northern Ireland. The "Controlled" school system in the country is largely Protestant, whereas the…

The Philadelphia School District's desegregation expansion strategy seeks to achieve and maintain a diverse student population in 117 desegregated schools through providing incentives for voluntary student transfers. One type of transfer is the EH36, which occurs when a student wishes to transfer between a neighborhood school and another open…

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…

IN A REPORT PUBLISHED IN 1962, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT TOTAL SCHOOL DESEGREGATION IN NORTH CAROLINA WAS NOT LIKELY IN THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE UNLESS FORCED BY COURT DECREES. THE BASIS FOR THE PREDICTION WAS THE HISTORY OF APPLICATION OF TWO ACTS--THE PUPIL ASSIGNMENT ACT, WHICH TRANSFERRED AUTHORITY OF PUPIL ASSIGNMENT TO LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS, AND THE…

SOUTHERN COMMUNITIES ARE IN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION TOWARD AN INTEGRATED SOCIETY. IT IS THE CHOICE OF EVERY COMMUNITY WHETHER OR NOT THIS TRANSITION WILL EVOLVE PEACEFULLY OR WHETHER IT WILL BE RESISTED WITH VIOLENT AND TRAGIC RESULTS. IF THE DECISION FOR A PEACEFUL TRANSITION IS MADE, EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL TECHNIQUES, EXPERIENCES, AND EFFORTS IN…