McFarland v. Jefferson County Public Schools & Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (PICS): Resources On U.S. Supreme Court Voluntary School Desegregation Rulings

Statements after the decision

Responses to U.S. Supreme Court decision about voluntary school integration:

• Joint Civil Rights Centers statement (2007), a statement from nine (9) civil rights centers.

• The educational implications of linguistic isolation and segregation of Latino English Language Learners (2007)
  

• Cita de Patricia Gandara, Codirectora del Proyecto Derechos Civiles: Response to ruling in Spanish from CRP Co-director Patricia Gándara (2007)
  

Impact of the ruling

• Reflections on the one-year anniversary of the decision.
• Districts’ integration efforts in a changing climate two years after the decision.
• School integration efforts three years after the ruling.

Information about segregation and its consequences

The United States is more than 40% nonwhite and going through dramatic racial change. Segregation is growing, and the racial isolation of blacks and Latinos is more severe than it has been since the late 1960s. Civil Rights Project research has documented the extent of segregation and its associated harms in a series of reports and has created resources for school districts to use in creating integrated schools.

• State of Segregation (2007): summary of the extent of racial segregation in U.S. schools.

• Social Science Talking Points (2007): summary of Statement of American Social Scientists of Research on School Desegregation (see full statement below under "Documents files with the Court."

• Transportation Fact Sheet (2009): For information regarding the role of transportation in school integration and how recent budget cuts are impacting this crucial aspect of public schools.
  

• Magnet Schools Fact Sheet (2009): For information on the diversity of magnet schools and their relevance to the ever-changing school choice landscape.
  

• Redistricting Fact Sheet (2010): describes how establishing school boundaries can lead to school segregation.

Publications

More research about segregation trends and associated negative educational outcomes:

• Reports on school segregation and the transformation of the nation’s public schools 

• Books on the benefits of integrated schools, how to effectively structure such schools, and the multidimensional impact of resegregation
  
  • Lessons in Integration:  Realizing the Promise of Racial Diversity in American Schools (University of Virginia Press, © 2007)
  • School Resegregation: Must the South Turn Back? (The University of North Carolina Press, © 2009)

• Manuals
  
  • Still Looking to the Future: A Manual for Parents, Educators, and Advocates
  • Preserving Integration Options for Latino Children: A Manual for Educators, Civil Rights Leaders, and the Community
    

Documents filed with the court

• Statement of American Social Scientists of Research on School Desegregation (2006): 553 social scientists detail the extensive desegregation literature and provide information on research about the benefits of integrated schools (and the harms of segregated schools).

• Transcripts of the oral arguments before the Supreme Court—for Louisville and Seattle.
• To read more materials submitted in the case, and other information, visit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's webpage for these cases and their blog for commentary.
  

Related court cases

Additional Information about the integration cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and related court cases:

• Lynn, Massachusetts' voluntary integration plan, upheld by the First Circuit Court in 2005.
• Supreme Court's 2003 Grutter decision and legal and social science responses to it.