Sat 14 Apr 2007
A California Court Upholds Neighborhood-Based School Integration (FindLaw)
Posted by Editor under EducationA Possible Alternative If, As Many Expect, the Supreme Court Strikes Down More Conventional Race-Based Pupil Assignment
By VIKRAM DAVID AMAR
Supreme Court observers and school officials across the country are still awaiting the Court’s decisions in two pending cases - one from Seattle and one from Louisville — concerning the constitutionality of race-based student assignment in K-12 education. Meanwhile, they should pay close attention to another ruling last week - this one by a California state court - regarding pupil assignment.
The decision, American Civil Rights Foundation(ACLF) v. Berkeley Unified School District, upheld an innovative Berkeley public school voluntary integration program. If - as many (perhaps most) knowledgeable analysts expect– the Supreme Court strikes down the Seattle and/or Louisville plans, the Berkeley-style program may become the wave of the future.