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Time - Man of the Year
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1992-08-28
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NATION, Page 31American NotesDESEGREGATIONLeaving It Up To the Locals
Since the 1960s, when federal judges ordered the desegregation
of hundreds of school systems, one key question has gone
unanswered: at what point had a system done enough to mix black
and white children in the classroom to satisfy the courts?
Last week the Supreme Court edged closer to an answer: it
ruled that in many instances, local school districts can
determine the means for achieving classroom racial balance. The
case involved the public schools of De Kalb County, Ga., which
were ordered to desegregate in 1969. After that, large numbers
of black families moved into the southern part of the county and
sent their children to neighborhood schools. Result: more than
half of the 33,752 black students attended 90% black schools,
while more than a fourth of the 34,692 white pupils were in
schools that were 90% white.
Three years ago, a federal appeals court called for a
major desegregation effort. But the Supreme Court overturned
that order on the ground that the schools' racial makeup
reflects "demographic shifts" the school board could not
control. In cases in which segregation is not the result of
actions by local officials, wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy,
courts cannot force schools to assign students by race. The
ruling might encourage other school districts to seek a halt to
court-ordered integration also.