Friday, March 21, 2003

Court hearing avoided in Board of Education desegregation case

A tentative agreement has been reached between the Fulton County Board of Education and the plaintiffs in a long-running school desegregation case, Hightower v. West.

If approved by the court, the district will be declared a "unitary" school system for all students regardless of race.

A unitary school system is one in which the segregative practices of the former dual system are no longer evident and no longer affect current operations.

"We are pleased that this case has been resolved without the need for the upcoming court hearing," said board president Katie Reeves. "Our ability to reach an agreement reflects that we truly do operate a unitary school system where improving achievement for all students is our top priority."

If approved by the court, the settlement would bring an end to the school desegregation order that has been in place in the Fulton County School System since 1970. The desegregation order was one of many federal court orders issued in the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court's 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which required the desegregation of public schools throughout the nation.

Terms of the proposed settlement include phasing out the district's majority-to-minority (M-to-M) program over the next nine years, with the end coming at the close of the 2011-12 school year. The program allows students to transfer, with free transportation provided, from a school in which their race is in the majority to a school in which their race is in the minority.

In Fulton County and elsewhere, M-to-M programs have been used primarily by black students attending predominantly black schools to transfer to predominantly white schools.

M-to-M enrollment for the 2003-04 school year already has begun, and the proposed agreement calls for one additional year (2004-05) in which students not currently enrolled in the M-to-M program can enroll. As of the 2005-06 school year, new students would not have the right to enroll in the program.

The tentative agreement also calls for a task force to study race-neutral alternatives to the M-to-M program.

Other terms of the proposed settlement call for the district to analyze enrollment and other data relating to advanced placement and foreign language courses for the next three years and to take steps aimed at increasing enrollment in these courses in south Fulton schools. Student discipline practices and data also would be examined.

The tentative agreement calls for the school system to be declared unitary immediately upon the federal court approval of the settlement. Attorneys for the parties expect to seek preliminary approval of the settlement within the coming weeks.

A fairness hearing will be scheduled for a later date, possibly in May. Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed settlement.