National School Board Assocation Press Release--Disappointed but not Defeated

"NSBA Disappointed, but Hopeful, as Supreme Court Strikes Down Seattle, Louisville School District Voluntary Integration Plans"

Alexandria, VA – June 28 - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) today expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to strike down the voluntary integration plans of the Seattle and Louisville school districts, but maintained hope that a majority of the court recognized the ability of school boards to continue to maintain racial diversity as a legitimate educational goal. The cases were Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who wrote the majority opinion in the combined cases, said that the two school districts have "failed to provide the necessary support for the proposition that there is no other way than individual racial classifications to avoid racial isolation in their school districts."

“Despite the majority opinion, we are pleased with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s separate concurrence that explicitly rejected the plurality’s contention that racial diversity constituted racial balancing, which is constitutionally impermissible,” said NSBA General Counsel Francisco Negrón. Justice Kennedy and four other members of the court constituting a majority recognize that diversity as an educational goal remains a compelling government interest.

"We hope that school boards will continue to pursue those educational priorities through careful race-conscious policies,” said NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. These measures could include school site selection, magnet programs, and attendance zones. NSBA is also advising school boards to engage their local communities and meet with experts to devise specific policies to meet their goal of classroom diversity.

“I see hope in this decision because Justice Kennedy left open the possibility of the use of race to achieve classroom diversity,” Negrón said. “He did not give us a lot of guidance on how the plan must be devised, but he expressed confidence in the ability of school boards and communities to bring the kind of creativity and energy that is essential to the very important goal of diversity as an educational goal."

“School districts have a compelling reason to create a diverse learning environment because it helps improve student achievement and prepares students to live and work in an increasingly diverse society,” Bryant said."

NSBA’s complete amicus brief, as well as more resources on the cases, can be found at www.nsba.org/diversitycases.

The National School Boards Association, a federation of state school boards associations representing more than 95,000 local school board members, closely monitors the courts and regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs in cases that affect the nation’s 50 million public school students.