The Resegregation of Public Schools

Abstract

Last summer, the Supreme Court declared voluntary student assignment plans to racially integrate the public schools in Louisville, Kentucky, and Seattle,Washington, unconstitutional by a 5—4 majority. This was a landmark ruling for public school integration and civil rights; the Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) ruling is likely to affect districts that use race-conscious criteria for assigning students to schools. School personnel and citizens committed to racially integrated schools need to understand this complex decision so they can determine whether their current policy is within the legal precedent. The case is difficult to interpret because the justices' opinions were extremely polarized, and although Justice Kennedy agreed with the majority decision, he agreed with the majority opinion only in part. To participate and provide leadership in school integration policy development, school social workers need to recognize how divided the conservative and liberal factions were in this decision and why the Louisville and Seattle plans failed to pass the strict scrutiny standard according to the majority of justices. In this article, the trend toward resegregated schools is summarized, the recent Supreme Court decision is analyzed, and the implications for school social workers are discussed.