Parents Challenge Desegregation Law

Newsday ^ | 6/3/2 | DENISE LAVOIE

[rwjst4]

BOSTON -- Parents went to federal court Monday to challenge a town's voluntary desegregation plan as an unconstitutional use of race to keep families from sending children to schools of their choice.

Under the plan in Lynn, transfers of students outside their own neighborhoods can be denied if they disturb a racial balance.

[rwjst4]

"This is the first time in this country's history that
the validity of a voluntary school assignment plan is on
trial," said assistant attorney general Richard Cole.

"The state rewards school districts who voluntarily
desegregate with additional money for educational
services or building projects."

Correction, please:

When the State rewards you for "volunteering" for some
program using taxpayer money, you're hardly a "volunteer"
anymore.

[valkyrieanne]

The same Orwellian "newspeak" was used to describe the St. Louis "voluntary" desegregation plan. The St. Louis County school districts were told, "Sign up to accept transfer students, or the case goes to trial." Officially the county districts were under a "voluntary settlement" because none of them wanted to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal fees. (The federal judge also went above the Missouri constitution and imposed new taxes by judicial mandate. Nothing "voluntary" about that.)