Judge Rules Ed. Practices Led To Segregation in Ill. District

By Peter Schmidt

A federal judge last week found the Rockford, Ill., school district guilty of racial discrimination and school resegregation based, in part, on its use of some educational practices previously viewed by the courts as racially neutral.

In a landmark 537-page ruling, U.S. Magistrate P. Michael Mahoney found that the district had "consistently and massively'' racially segregated students through a long list of practices, including ability grouping and the operation of Montessori, alternative, magnet, bilingual, and other special programs that tended to serve racially skewed groups of students.

The opinion also faulted the district for its drawing of school boundaries, its use of open enrollment, and its racially skewed distribution of teachers, as well as for differences in the transportation, facilities, and equipment provided to...