Posted on 10/20/2005 12:23:48 PM PDT by Crackingham
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the Seattle School District's use of race as a tiebreaking factor in high-school admissions.
"We conclude that the district has a compelling interest in securing the educational and social benefits of racial (and ethnic) diversity," the 7-4 majority wrote, overturning a 2-1 decision by a three-judge 9th Circuit panel last year. "We also conclude the district's plan is narrowly tailored to meet the district's compelling interests."
A parents' group that challenged the tiebreaker said it would appeal.
The ruling is the second Circuit Court opinion this year to uphold voluntary desegregation plans by city school districts, cases that are helping define how far districts can go to ensure diversity in their classrooms. In June, a 3-2 ruling by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a plan used by the school district of Lynn, Mass.
Two years ago, the Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings concerning the University of Michigan, saying public universities may consider the race of applicants in their admissions process, as long as other attributes are considered and race is not an overriding factor. But the high court has never ruled on voluntary diversity plans in public secondary schools, which are used by many school districts around the country.
In Seattle, students list which high schools they'd prefer to attend. When a high school has more applicants than classroom seats, the district uses a series of tiebreakers, including race, to decide who gets in.
A group called Parents Involved in Community Schools sued in July 2000, arguing that it was unfair for the school district to consider race, and Seattle halted use of the tiebreaker in the 2002-03 school year as the case made its way through state and federal courts.
"We are going to petition the U.S. Supreme court to look at this," said PICS president Kathleen Brose, who is white. "It's too important a decision for the city of Seattle. These children need access to their neighborhood schools, and they're not going to get it if the district uses a racial tiebreaker."
Brose said the tiebreaker kept her oldest daughter out of Ballard High, the high school closest to their home, and her other top choices as well. As a freshman, she wound up having to commute 30 minutes to Ingraham High.
Since Seattle stopped using the tiebreaker, most schools have become slightly more racially imbalanced. The most dramatic change has been at Franklin High School, which saw its minority population jump by 8 percentage points between 2002 and this year.
Under the district's plan, the first tiebreaker was whether an applicant has a sibling already at the school. For years, the second tiebreaker was race: which applicant would bring the high school closer to the districtwide ratio of whites to nonwhites, roughly 40 percent to 60 percent. The third tiebreaker was distance, with closer students getting favoritism.
I really despise the term "compelling interest". It is a blank check for judicial activism. In this case, judicial racial discrimination. The judiciary has no more business determining the racial balance of schools than the state legislature or local government.
I thought it was named for Franklin Pierces' VP Wm Rufus King.
"Constitution? We doan need no stinkin' Constitution!"
race,race,race,race,race,race,diversity,race,race,money,race,race,racket,race,race,.....
It was changed to honor MLK a few years ago.
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/mlk/motion.htm
MOTION NO. 6461
A MOTION setting forth the historical basis for "renaming" King County after the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., instead of William Rufus DeVane King for whom King County is currently named.
And who knows what Harriett Miers' view is on Affirmative action.
Ninth Circuit.
Big surprise.
Yawn.
I posted it a few days ago. This is a major reason I went from undecided to strongly opposed. Here is the thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1502612/posts
I'd like to see a private business try to use that reasoning, "Yeah, we consider race as a criterion to hire more white engineers because it's a compelling interest for us, but it isn't an overriding factor".
Bam!
The bad news is that we now have two new justices who are, at best, wildcards, and most likely will vote with the liberals.
Even if this point system is banned, they will just find another way to cheat:
Orwellian "diversity essay" replaces simple race preferences
The University of Michigan's undergraduate school has come out with a new admissions procedure to replace the old point system--declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gratz v. Bollinger--under which 20 points were automatically granted to members of racial minorities. The key element of the new system, as explained by Peter Wood, is a "diversity essay," in which the applicant discusses some life-changing experience which showed to him the supreme importance of diversity in his life. Wood offers some all-too-realistic parodies of the sorts of racial epiphanies that students might describe--or rather invent--in order to pass muster.
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/001772.html
The 9th circus has already been overruled on this once. Does anyone remember the Bakke case against the Univ. of Calif.??
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