June 28, 2007

Joint Statement of Nine University-Based Civil Rights Centers on Today's Supreme Court Rulings on Voluntary School Desegregation

The decision contravenes a half-century of social science research showing the benefits of racial diversity for students, communities, and a democratic society, and the detrimental effects of segregation on educational opportunity, race relations, and children's psychological development. The ruling also comes at a time when school segregation is rising in every region of the nation. In many cities, segregation of African American and Latino children is worse now than it was thirty years ago. In the face of these facts, todays decision more deeply institutionalizes separate and unequal education for minority children.

Although the Court's ruling is a disappointment, it is vital that local communities not move to immediately dismantle their school desegregation plans. Like their counterparts in Louisville and Seattle, many local educators across the country have voluntarily taken steps to foster racially diverse public schools, usually through assignment plans based on parental choice. Whether such plans are permissible in light of today's decision will require careful and thoughtful analysis, not a rush to judgment.

Indeed, the Court appeared to leave open several avenues for integrating public schools. In the weeks ahead, each of our research centers pledges to work with local educators and advocates to consider all permissible options for fostering integration, avoiding segregation, and keeping alive the aspiration of Brown v. Board of Education.

Going forward, we will also document the effects of today's ruling on segregation, student achievement, graduation rates, and educational inequity in public schools. Equally important, we will study and report on what is known about how to build successful multiracial schools. In our increasingly diverse nation, it is more crucial than ever that our schools reflect the larger society in which our students will live, work, and exercise the responsibilities of citizenship.

The distinguished legal scholar Alexander Bickel once said: "Virtually all important decisions of the Supreme Court are the beginnings of conversations between the Court and the people and their representatives." Today's decision is no exception. Through research and analysis, our centers aim to inform and invigorate public dialogue-in classrooms, communities, and Congress-on the implications of the Court's ruling for our national commitment to building a fair and inclusive multiracial democracy.

The national debate on this issue is far from over. The Court has spoken, but the American people and their representatives have yet to respond. When they do, it is our hope and firm belief that today's decision will be regarded as an ill-reasoned, ill-advised, but not insuperable obstacle to realizing the cherished American ideal of a vibrant integrated society.

For a more detailed statement.

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