Will U.S. Supreme Court Tackle School Resegregation?

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When the U.S. Supreme Court heard nearly five hours of arguments about the consideration of race in higher education on Oct. 31, much of the focus was understandably about the details of undergraduate admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. They are the two institutions whose practices are being challenged by opponents of affirmative action in the cases.

But in a handful of briefs filed with the court, and in some of the comments during the lengthy arguments, there were reminders that racial diversity among student enrollments remains a delicately pursued but often elusive goal in K-12 schools as well.

“If you’re Black, you’re more likely to be in an underresourced [K-12] school,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said to a lawyer challenging race-conscious admissions at the University of North Carolina. “You’re more likely to be taught by teachers who are not as qualified as others. You’re more likely to be viewed as … having less academic potential.”

Sotomayor’s observation may have been influenced by a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the college cases by the Council of the Great City Schools, the coalition of the nation’s 76 largest urban school districts. The brief focused on telling the court that racial segregation and inequality persist in elementary and secondary schools, nearly 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka held that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal.

“Despite the best efforts of school districts like the council’s members to create more diverse schools, racial segregation has increased over the last two decades,” the council’s brief says. “As a result, educational inequities persist.”
Read more: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/schools-are-resegregating-theres-a-pus...