Judge OKs end to San Francisco desegregation plan
Posted on: Tuesday, 8 November 2005, 20:16 CST
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. court ruled on Tuesday against extending a 22-year-old court decree forcing the racial integration of San Francisco's public schools, saying they have become resegregated after the decree had been modified.
In his ruling, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for Northern California noted the decree, which has regulated school assignments for children in San Francisco since 1983, had initially succeeded in integrating city schools.
However, a formula in the decree used to achieve racial balance became the focus of a lawsuit by families of several schoolchildren of Chinese descent, who claimed they were not able to attend their neighborhood schools.
A 1999 settlement modified the decree to allow a plan that eliminated race as a factor in assigning students to schools. An amended settlement in 2001 set a termination date of December 31, 2005 for the consent decree.
By replacing the decree's formula for balancing racial groups with a "diversity index" that looks at several factors but not race for school assignments, San Francisco's public schools have in recent years "become increasingly resegregated," Alsup wrote.
"The perpetuation of resegregation allowed, if not caused, by the decree itself would be contrary to the public interest," he wrote, adding that the "decree has transformed itself into court-ordered resegregation."
The decree should expire at the end of the year, according to Alsup, noting future decisions about school assignments would be "better left in the hands of education professionals subject to the rough and tumble of local politics and government."
"After twenty-two years of judicial supervision and substantial compliance by the school district, it is entirely appropriate to return full control of the district to the school board and superintendent," he added.
"San Francisco, it can be safely added, is a beacon for human rights," Alsup noted. "It would be one of the last places in America where racist school policies would be expected."
Source: REUTERS
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