U.S. Judge Declares Buffalo Schools Desegregated

By Peter Schmidt

A federal judge has declared the Buffalo, N.Y., school system desegregated, ending nearly two decades of court supervision and surprising local civil-rights activists who did not know such a decision was in the works.

U.S. District Judge John T. Curtin ruled last month that the 47,800-student district has remedied all vestiges of past racial discrimination and should be removed from the court supervision it has been under since 1976.

"It is plain that the [school board] is strongly committed to continuing to pursue the goals of desegregation and providing a high-quality of education to all students in the school system," the judge said...