Parties in the East Baton Rouge Parish school desegregation case have reached an agreement, possibly ending 47 years of lawsuits, mediations and court appearances.
The Davis v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board lawsuit was filed on behalf of 37 children in East Baton Rouge Parish in 1956.
According to John Connelly, East Baton Rouge Parish School System public information officer, the suit was filed by families of black students who felt their children were not receiving an education equal to that of white students.
According to documents from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a 1970 plan for desegregation said the assignment of students was based on a “neighborhood school concept” supplemented by a majority-to-minority transfer provision.
The plan said students should go to the school closest to their homes, Connelly said.
However, in 1974, a motion was filed in Middle District Court alleging the 1970 plan for desegregation “had not effectively desegregated the former statutory dual school system,” according to court documents.
The district court denied this motion and dismissed the case, saying the parish school system was being operated on a unitary basis, or without desegregation.
However, in 1980, the district court found a dual school system still existed in East Baton Rouge Parish.
“The undisputed facts establish that the school board has simply constructed white schools for white students and black schools for black students without consideration of location so as to further desegregation or to forestall resegregation of the school system,” the district court said in court documents.
The School Board issued a desegregation proposal in 1996 in hopes of resolving differences.
The proposal called for an equalization of the quality of education in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, a decrease in the number of racially identifiable schools, a stabilization and increase of the number of students in the system, an increase in the number of students enrolled in desegregated schools and an increase in interracial exposure among students.
All involved parties agreed to the plan and presented a Consent Decree for the district court’s approval. On August 2, 1996, the court approved the decree.
The decree said school desegregation was to be accomplished through a magnet school program to attract white students to majority-black schools and an intensified recruitment of transfers of black students to majority-white schools.
The School Board filed for unitary status in February 2002, saying it had complied with the consent decree and all requirements necessary to end court supervision.
But in June 2002, U.S. District Judge James Brady sent all parties back into mediation.
U.S. District Judge Tucker Melancon, the appointed mediator, removed himself from the talks in January 2003, citing health problems, and appointed Bernie Boudreaux as co-mediator.
Mediation resumed in May after a four-month break.
Although details were not released at press time, it appears an agreement had been reached to settle all remaining differences.
Last week, East Baton Rouge Parish public school Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said to members of the local media, “What we are saying is we have reached an agreement in principle that will end the federal court supervision of the school system.”
Several steps remain before the agreement can take effect.
Melancon still needs to approve the agreement. The agreement then will be sent to all parties, and Brady will schedule a fairness hearing to hear any objections from those affected by the agreement.
Connelly said the process is expected to take about two weeks.
University visitors said they did not think race should play a role in where students attend school.
Greg Rust, visiting the campus, said schools should have a grade point average requirement instead of basing student enrollments on race.
Cheyenne Joao, another campus visitor, said desegregation could help students learn about each other’s cultures.
“I don’t think race should matter, especially with education,” Joao said.
In a news release, Gov. Mike Foster said, “Though the process has been trying at times, I believe that nothing will help restore the faith in public schools and the spirit of public education in this community more than resolution of this difficult process. I commend the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, the Plaintiffs and the members of the Citizen’s Task Force for their progress in bringing this case closer to an end.”
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said in a press release, “I believe this will strengthen the system and its drive for academic excellence for all students.”