Student Assignment Plans

Law & Courts Federal File OCR Race Letter Draws Objection
The Department of Education’s office for civil rights has weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision on school districts’ consideration of race in assigning students to schools.
Mark Walsh, September 23, 2008
1 min read
Law & Courts Louisville District Unveils New Student-Assignment Plan
The district proposed a new system that it hopes will maintain racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity in its schools without running afoul of the law.
Catherine Gewertz, January 30, 2008
4 min read
Law & Courts Use of Race a Concern for Magnet Schools
School officials are examining their programs after the recent Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious assignment policies in districts.
Mark Walsh, October 25, 2007
7 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Wake County Postpones Decision on Student-Assignment Policy
School board members say they need more time to debate a policy that aims to minimize the concentration of poor students in one school.
Lesli A. Maxwell, October 16, 2007
1 min read
Equity & Diversity Wake County, N.C., May Raise Cap on Poor Students
The student-assignment plan has drawn the spotlight as a national model for ensuring diversity in public schools without using race and ethnicity.
Lesli A. Maxwell, October 5, 2007
3 min read
Law & Courts Mass. Tells Districts to Hold Off on Student-Assignment Changes
State officials are examining the plans to see if they are legally viable in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Catherine Gewertz, September 13, 2007
6 min read
Law & Courts Income-Based Diversity Plans Highlighted
A new report surveys the use of students’ socioeconomic status in pursuit of diverse and high-achieving school populations in a dozen school districts.
Andrew Trotter, July 2, 2007
3 min read
Law & Courts Researchers Cite Evidence for Race-Conscious Policies
The National Academy of Education calls race-conscious policies "the most effective means of achieving racial diversity in schools."
Debra Viadero, June 29, 2007
1 min read
Law & Courts Districts Face Uncertainty in Maintaining Racially Diverse Schools
The recent Supreme Court decision limiting race-based school assignments means districts must consider whether to try alternative means to keep schools integrated.
Mark Walsh, June 28, 2007
11 min read
Federal Decision Sparks Divided Reactions
School officials and traditional civil rights groups decried the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on race-based admissions, while others hailed the decision as a victory again reverse discrimination.
David J. Hoff, June 28, 2007
3 min read
Teddy B. Gordon, a lawyer representing Louisville mother Crystal Meredith, speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4 after presenting his argument that assigning students to schools based on race is unconstitutional.
Teddy B. Gordon, a lawyer representing Louisville mother Crystal Meredith, speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4 after presenting his argument that assigning students to schools based on race is unconstitutional.
Christopher Powers/Education Week
Law & Courts Strong Opinions Expressed at Rally Outside Supreme Court
The steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building were a magnet for hundreds of college and high school students who turned out on a cold and windy Monday to show their support for affirmative action and Brown v. Board of Education, which they believe will be damaged if the court strikes down two voluntary plans used to promote racial diversity in the Jefferson County, Ky., and Seattle schools.
Christina A. Samuels, December 4, 2006
4 min read
Law & Courts Diverse Views Offered on Supreme Court Race Cases
Education organizations, civil rights groups, and scholars were among those filing a total of 57 friend-of-the-court briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court by the Oct. 10 deadline in support of race-conscious policies of the Seattle and Jefferson County, Ky., school districts.
Andrew Trotter, October 23, 2006
5 min read
Education A National Roundup Calif. District Is Sued Over Assignment Plan
The American Civil Rights Foundation is suing the Berkeley, Calif., school district over its use of race in determining students’ assignment to elementary schools and to special high school programs.
Andrew Trotter, October 10, 2006
1 min read
Law & Courts No Shades of Gray
Louisville's race-conscious policy is the target of a legal challenge by a white parent who contends that the policy violated her son’s U.S. constitutional right to equal protection of the law when he was denied a transfer to his neighborhood school on account of his race in 2000.
Andrew Trotter, October 3, 2006
7 min read