The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in two school desegregation cases that could drastically affect race-conscious initiatives in schools across the country. The justices are expected to make a decision this spring.
In the last week, scholars have held a series of panels and press conferences touting research into the harmful effects of segregation and urging the justices to side with the school districts in preserving race-conscious initiatives instead of White parents who claim they are discriminatory.
However, with Sandra Day O Connor’s retirement, and U.S. President George Bush’s recent appointments of conservative justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, it is uncertain how the court will decide.
“In this case the court is considering if there are compelling evidence to show the benefits to racial diversity and if there’s harm in racial isolation,” says Angelo Ancheta, assistant professor of law at the Santa Clara University. “I am confident that they’ll find the evidence compelling.”
The cases involve Seattle (Parents Involved in Community Schools vs. Seattle School District No 1.) and Louisville, Ky. (Meredith vs. Jefferson County Public Schools). In both cases, local education officials in urban school districts designed enrollment plans that encouraged racial diversity while still allowing children to attend neighborhood schools or a school of choice. These efforts were challenged by parent groups that filed lawsuits claiming that the consideration of race was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The school districts have won in the federal, district and appellate courts, however, the Supreme Court agreed to review the issue when the parents appealed. Many fear the court took up the cases intentionally to strike down desegregation efforts. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has weighed in against using race in admissions, as have officials from the Department of Justice who argue the school districts’ efforts are “unconstitutional.”
“We think there’s a way to balance diversity and high-quality program offerings other than race-based measures,” Spellings has said.
