Running head: DESEGRAGATION- AN END TO BUSING

Desegregation- An End to Busing

Nancy Delgado
University of St. Thomas

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

Desegregation- An End to Busing

Many people think about segregation as a problem of the past as we ignore the fact that
schools today are becoming more segregated. By attempting to improve student outcomes
without integrating schools, more than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education, education
policies implicitly accept the myth of separate but equal. According to the Washington Post, U.S.
schools are more segregated since 1990, students in major metropolitan areas are most severely
divided by race and income (Theoharis, 2015). Racially homogenous neighborhoods resulted
from historic housing practices and continue to drive school segregation by socio-economic
status today. Despite desegregation efforts of busing, charter schools, and zoning; schools
continue to operate serving homogenous groups with a vast concentration of minorities in the
poorest school districts. The following case study analyzes desegregation and an end to busing.
Historical Overview of Segregation
The 1950s and 1960s is an important period in the history of education and integration
in America. Although, the Fourteenth Amendment passed in 1868 which provided equal
protection under the laws; the majority of public schools remained segregated until the late
1960s. According to Essex (2016), until the late 1960s it was public opinion that separate but
equal was acceptable, even though in reality separate facilities for minorities were not equal to
those for whites only.
Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 became a landmark case when the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that segregation of white and colored children in public schools had a detrimental
effect upon colored children. The ruling was a victory and the beginning of the Civil Rights
movement that was to follow in the 1960s. However, Brown did not provide guidance and no
mandates to achieve desegregated schools in America. Consequently, the Brown II case ruling

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

ensured the proper implementation of desegregation giving mandates to local districts to

supervise the transition from dual segregated systems to unitary desegregated school systems.
As racial tensions climbed high in the 1960s, schools sought to desegregate by creating
attendance zones which had to meet racial quotas. The reasoning behind racial quotas was to
assure that the school authorities did not exclude students of racial minority from any school on
the basis of race. An additional step for integration was to alter attendance zones to seek further
integration of students. The purpose of zoning plans was to create racially neutral school
assignments (Essex, 2016). Furthermore, busing was an effective means of achieving
desegregated schools, although it faced many oppositions from both parents and citizens.
The Case at Hand
Essex presents a case study in Chapter 12, in School Law and the Public Schools, where
an affluent Southern school district was subject to a court-ordered desegregation plan involving
busing. After receiving the court order recognizing that the district had achieved unitary status,
the district decided to discontinue elementary school busing and move to a neighborhood plan
that would bus sixth graders to a middle school. The problem that many parents and citizens
challenged was that ending elementary school busing, would re-create segregated schools.
De Jure Segregation or De Facto Segregation
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law for students
attending public schools. Furthermore, because the equal protection clause covers state action, it
prohibits state endorsed discrimination. Therefore, de jure segregation is sanctioned by law and it
is illegal and unconstitutional. De Jure segregation does not exist today as it violates the
Fourteenth Amendment and it is not present in the case at hand.

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

De Facto segregation is present when a substantial number of students enrolled in a

school represent a racial and ethnic minority (Essex, 2016). However, school districts make the
claim that they operate in good faith and make an effort to achieve desegregated schools by
seeking unitary status. In the case of the Southern school district received unitary status and
decided to discontinue school busing to move to a neighborhood school plan. One can argue that
its decision would create de facto segregation as it inadvertently excludes minorities from
attending a white majority school.
Busing and Desegregation
The idea of providing equal opportunity regardless of race brought on the busing of
students in an effort to achieve desegregation. The goal of busing earlier in the desegregation era,
was to achieve racial balance, protect the civil rights of black students, and foster equality in
education. Many people opposed the idea of busing arguing that it was a threat to the
neighborhood school concept, an added expense to taxpayers, and time consuming to students as
it increased their school commute. Many states challenged busing by passing legislation that
ultimately the U.S Supreme opposed as the court viewed busing as effective means to achieving
desegregated schools. The following are two cases where the rulings were in favor and against
busing with the purpose of desegregation and could be applied to the cased discussed in this
paper.
Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an appellate courts ruling that mandated the use of
busing to achieve a racial balance in schools within the district. The Supreme Court held that an
anti-busing initiative would result in impermissible racial classification of students for the
purpose of achieving segregated schools (Essex, 2016, p. 320).

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

Crawford v. Board of Education of Los Angeles

In contrast, the California Supreme Court upheld a state constitutional amendment
barring the use of mandatory busing except where there was evidence of Fourteenth Amendment
violations. California was not required to adhere to more stringent standards than were mandated
by the Fourteenth Amendment because, by state law, de facto and de jure segregation were
prohibited (Essex, 2016, p. 320).
The goal of busing was to integrate schools and give minority students the same
opportunity to a fair education. Some may argue that the achievement gap of black students
began to narrow as schools began to integrate. Others argue, that integration caused many whites
to move to other neighborhoods while black middle class families did the same leaving behind
disadvantaged neighborhoods with predominantly minority populations.
Possible Court Ruling
In this case, a possible court ruling, can grant the Southern school district a claim that
they operated in good faith and made a collaborative effort to achieve desegregated schools.
Therefore, this good faith incremental approach to achieve unitary status could be acceptable by
the courts and could be considered constitutional.
Implications for School Administrators
Subsequently, school administrators need to be aware that de jure segregation is illegal
and will not be supported by the courts as it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. However, the
latest trends in school zoning and attendance boundaries are recreating segregation by socioeconomic status instead of race. The current trend today has been toward desegregated schools
where many minorities are attending inferior inner city schools, whereas whites attend more
affluent suburban schools like the case at hand.

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

Furthermore, the inadequate state funding of public schools is causing a segregation of

socio-economic status where many schools are mainly serving Hispanic and African American
population as a majority. Administrators should be committed to providing an equal educational
opportunity for minority and white students even in the absence of court-ordered desegregation
rulings. Segregation is no longer a black and white issue; it is an American issue where children
are not receiving the same opportunity because of where they live. School funds are directly tied
to property taxes and this is causing segregation of whites in the affluent parts of the city while
minorities are lumped together in the inner city poorly funded school districts. Research shows
that integration in schools is a critical factor in narrowing the achievement gap. Desegregating
schools is an essential solution to one of our nations most persistent problems in education.

DESEGREGATION- AN END TO BUSING

References
Essex, N. L. (2016). School law and the public schools: A practical guide for educational
leaders (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Theoharis, G. (2015, October 23). Forced busing didnt fail. Desegregation is the best way to
improve our schools. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2016, from:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/10/23/forced-busing-didntfail-desegregation-is-the-best-way-to-improve-our-schools/