A New Era for Desegregation

Abstract

This Article argues that traditional desegregation cases should be seen as one important tool in the continuing struggle by many parents, students, and civil rights advocates to achieve racial and socioeconomic integration in our public schools. While it is unlikely that any new desegregation cases will be filed and the overwhelming majority of the approximately 16,000 school districts in the United States are not under desegregation orders, these orders are still powerful tools in the school districts where they remain. For decades legal scholars and civil rights litigators have anticipated the end of desegregation, and most have begun to focus on other aspects of education reform such as accountability, school choice, and school finance reform. But until the last school district is declared unitary, civil rights advocates should examine these cases and take a proactive approach to insuring that states and school districts have fulfilled every aspect of desegregation orders. A vigilant and proactive approach to the remaining desegregation cases can potentially influence racial integration and student achievement in the directly affected school districts and the broader landscape of American schools.

Keywords: education law, desegregation, civil rights