The Jefferson County, Ky., school district, set back by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating its student-assignment plan, is exploring other remaining legal avenues in its bid to maintain racially integrated schools, its superintendent said recently.
Sheldon Berman said the high court might have sidelined one potent integration strategy鈥攁ssigning individual students to schools based on their race鈥攂ut his district is investigating other race-conscious means that are still available under the June 28 ruling, such as redrawing attendance boundaries.
鈥淭he court took away one tool. We have to maximize the others,鈥� he told educators gathered to hear five urban district leaders discuss what lies ahead for school diversity since the Supreme Court found the student-assignment systems in Jefferson County and Seattle to be unconstitutional. The Nov. 2 panel was part of the annual conference of the Council of the Great City Schools, a Washington-based advocacy group.
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said schools cannot use a student鈥檚 race to make school assignment or transfer decisions. But in a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said it would be legally permissible for schools to consider race when funding special programs, locating new schools, recruiting faculty and staff in a targeted way, or creating attendance zones. (鈥淯se of Race Uncertain for Schools,鈥� July 18, 2007.)
The question now, Mr. Berman said, is 鈥渉ow can we use the strategies Justice Kennedy gave us?鈥�
He and his fellow panelists detailed the difficulties of trying to do something they passionately believe in鈥攅nsure that children of all races, ethnicities, and income levels learn together鈥攚ithout running afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
Jefferson County, a 98,000- student district that includes Louisville, is crunching demographic numbers 鈥渆ndlessly鈥� to devise a new student-assignment plan, Mr. Berman said. Officials plan to put it in place for the 2009-10 school year. Mr. Berman said one idea involves a 鈥渟atellite鈥� approach, in which lower-income regions of the district are paired with affluent ones to form attendance areas that include a diverse mix of students.
Raising Value
Carla J. Santorno, the chief academic officer of the 46,000-student Seattle system, said her district, meanwhile, is studying ways to build as much demand for schools in the lower-income, higher-minority southern part of the city as there is for schools in the whiter, wealthier north.
Transportation changes might have to factor into the plan, she said. Because no bus rides are provided for children who live one to two miles from their schools, depending on their grade levels, south-end parents sometimes choose north-end schools. Reducing the 鈥渨alk zone鈥� and building attractive programs in the south end might be one way to manage demand and address equity issues, she said. 鈥淭he key to a student-assignment plan is to raise the value of all schools,鈥� said Ms. Santorno, who was also on the panel.
Creating 鈥渟pecial鈥� or 鈥渁dvanced鈥� programs as a way to increase diversity can prove controversial because they can spark resentment, Mr. Berman said. Ms. Santorno said officials must ensure equal access to any attractive new programs. In an open-choice system like Seattle鈥檚, she said, creating a magnet school in a low-income neighborhood could draw so many affluent families that the needier ones are shut out.
The Kansas City, Mo., district spent nearly $2 billion on court-ordered integration tools such as magnet schools in the 1980s and 1990s, only to see continued poor academic performance. David A. Smith, the president of the Kansas City school board, said diversity is a particular challenge in a district where 86 percent of the 27,000 students are members of racial or ethnic minority groups.
鈥淲e really are left without anything to integrate,鈥� he said during the panel discussion. His district is returning to neighborhood schools.
The district鈥檚 aim now is to make all its schools good, Mr. Smith said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 keep looking for greener fields,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ultivate what you have.鈥�
Carlos A. Garcia, who became the superintendent of San Francisco鈥檚 55,000-student public schools in July, said his team is examining the possibility of 鈥済errymandering鈥� attendance zones to attain racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity in the city鈥檚 schools. They are discussing whether they could factor severe poverty into the index they use to make school assignments.
鈥淪ince we are the People鈥檚 Republic,鈥� he said, referring to the city鈥檚 liberal politics, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not just going to sit there and take it.鈥�
