Fourth, the pluralitys approach risks serious harm to the law and for the Nation. Educational policy has been traditionally within the power of the states. On what legal ground can the majority rest its contrary view? They further contend that the children who have yet to reach high school age fail to fulfill the first requirement because their potential injury is not imminent; they have not even applied yet and consequently any injury to them is purely hypothetical at this point. A similar reasoning could be applied in this case. This means that the government must identify a compelling interest and show that it has used a narrowly tailored means to further it. Regardless of the constitutional validity of such remediation, see Croson, supra, at 524525 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment), it does not apply here. Id., at 464. To Crawford? The Equal Protection Clause is not incoherent. 1, 458 U. S. 457, 472, n.15 (1982), post, at 5657, but there this Court expressly noted that it was not passing on the propriety of race-conscious student assignments in the absence of a finding of de jure segregation. Upon Joshuas enrollment in middle school, he may again be subject to assignment based on his race. It is reasonable to conclude that such resegregation can create serious educational, social, and civic problems. See App. Before the Lawsuit, 1954 to 1972. Today, almost 50 years later, attitudes toward race in this Nation have changed dramatically. Id., at 39a40a. No. of Cal. To the contrary, Jefferson County in its briefing has explained how and when it employs these classifications only in terms so broad and imprecise that they cannot withstand strict scrutiny. See Parts IA and IB, supra, at 618. So, the argument proceeds, if race is the problem, then perhaps race is the solution. Any use of race to distinguish one person from another threatens to stigmatize individuals and incite hostility. of Boston v. Board of Education, 352 Mass. Parents Involved in Cmty. A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and expertise, may choose to pursue. The degree of heterogeneity within these districts is immediately apparent. 05908, at 224a225a, 253a259a, 307a. Id., at 240 (Thomas, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment) (As far as the Constitution is concerned, it is irrelevant whether a governments racial classifications are drawn by those who wish to oppress a race or by those who have a sincere desire to help those thought to be disadvantaged). The plurality could validly claim that no court ever found that Seattle schools were segregated in law. 1, supra. Brief for Respondent at 3334. That the school districts consider these plans to be necessary should remind us our highest aspirations are yet unfulfilled. in No. First, the school districts plans serve compelling interests and are narrowly tailored on any reasonable definition of those terms. This context is not a context that involves the use of race to decide who will receive goods or services that are normally distributed on the basis of merit and which are in short supply. aspx? 1, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parents_Involved_in_Community_Schools_v._Seattle_School_District_No._1&oldid=1137632337. Before Brown, schoolchildren were told where they could and could not go to school based on the color of their skin. 05915, p.38. Indeed, the plans before us are more narrowly tailored than the race-conscious admission plans that this Court approved in Grutter. See Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 3 Planning and Evaluation Dept., Seattle Public Schools, The Plan Adopted by the Seattle School Board to Desegregate Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Pupils in the Garfield, Lincoln, and Roosevelt High School Districts by September, 1971, pp. I write separately to address several of the contentions in Justice Breyers dissent (hereinafter the dissent). Most worked at unskilled jobs. certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit, No. See post, at 5, 89, 18, 23. McDaniel concerned a Georgia school system that had been segregated by law. Executive and legislative branches, which for generations now have considered these types of policies and procedures, should be permitted to employ them with candor and with confidence that a constitutional violation does not occur whenever a decisionmaker considers the impact a given approach might have on students of different races. Racial imbalance is not segregation, and the mere incantation of terms like resegregation and remediation cannot make up the difference. Until today, this Court understood the Constitution as affording the people, acting through their elected representatives, freedom to select the use of race-conscious criteria from among their available options. See Hallinan 741742. See supra, at 1214. The histories I have set forth describe the extensive and ongoing efforts of two school districts to bring about greater racial integration of their public schools. The School District relies on Grutter in describing the educational benefits of a diverse student body as (1) instilling the civic virtue of cross-racial understanding; (2) creating better-informed citizens by exposing students to a wide range of viewpoints; and (3) enabling students to achieve more success. Even when it comes to race, the plans here employ only a limited notion of diversity, viewing race exclusively in white/nonwhite terms in Seattle and black/other terms in Jefferson County. The Court made clear that [s]trict scrutiny does not trea[t] dissimilar race-based decisions as though they were equally objectionable. Ibid. Pp. The Chief Justice states that the Massachusetts racial imbalance Act did not require express classifications. But the examples the dissent mentionsfor example, a provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires States to set measurable objectives to track the achievement of students from major racial and ethnic groups, 20 U. S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)have nothing to do with the pertinent issues in these cases. Swann did not hide its understanding of the law in a corner of an obscure opinion or in a footnote, unread but by experts. B to Roe Affidavit in Seattle School Dist. See also Richmond v. J. Statement in School Comm. In respect to elementary schools, the plan first drew a neighborhood line around each elementary school, and it then drew a second line around groups of elementary schools (called clusters). [Footnote 25] And just as the dissent argues that the need for these programs will lessen over time, the segregationists claimed that reliance on segregation was lessening and might eventually end. 515 U. S., at 125 (Thomas, J., concurring). 05908, at 1920; Brief for Respondents in No. Public Schools, 197 F.3d 123, 133 (CA4 1999); Tuttle v. Arlington Cty. 1, supra, at 461; Hanawalt 40. Ibid. Dist. 2. In an increasingly plural society, exposure to other points of view promotes understanding and cohesiveness. "It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much," Justice Breyer said of the Court's decision. [S]chool authorities, the Court said, have wide discretion in formulating school policy, and . Establishing a strong basis in evidence requires proper findings regarding the extent of the government units past racial discrimination. For the dissents purposes, the relevant hard-won gains are the present racial compositions in the individual schools in Seattle and Louisville. Gratz involved a system where race was not the entire classification. As well, there is precedent for finding jurisdiction in situations where the passage of time has prevented a direct remedy. It was not the inequality of the facilities but the fact of legally separating children based on race on which the Court relied to find a constitutional violation in that case. The board responded to the lawsuit by introducing a plan that required race-based transfers and mandatory busing. [Footnote 11] But see Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC, 497 U. S. 547, 610 (1990) (We are a Nation not of black and white alone, but one teeming with divergent communities knitted together with various traditions and carried forth, above all, by individuals) (OConnor, J., dissenting). These decisions illustrate well how lower courts understood and followed Swanns enunciation of the relevant legal principle. See also ante, at 15 (opinion of Kennedy, J.). See Part II, supra, at 2137. In addition, a ruling in PICSs favor will restrict the ability of school districts to combat de facto segregation. In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle (2007), the United States Supreme Court found that the school district was using race in an unconstitutional manner in its assignment plan. See Milliken, 418 U. S., at 74142 (No single tradition in public education is more deeply rooted than local control over the operation of schools; local autonomy has long been thought essential both to the maintenance of community concern and support for public schools and to quality of the educational process). It is not clear why the racial guidelines were even applied to Joshuas transfer applicationthe guidelines supposedly do not apply at the kindergarten level. See ante, at 1725. The second government interest we have recognized as compelling for purposes of strict scrutiny is the interest in diversity in higher education upheld in Grutter, 539 U. S., at 328. Prior to Grutter, the courts of appeals rejected as unconstitutional attempts to implement race-based assignment planssuch as the plans at issue herein primary and secondary schools. At the time of Brown, v. Board of Education, 347 U. S. 483 (1954), Georgias Constitution required that [s]eparate schools shall be provided for the white and colored races. Ga. 05908, p.13, n.13. [Footnote 14]. 05-908, was filed by a group of parents who had formed a nonprofit corporation to. Indeed, the very school districts that once spurned integration now strive for it. Rather, this Court must assess independently the nature of the interest asserted and the evidence to support it in order to determine whether it qualifies as compelling under our precedents. The school district met its percentage goals by assigning to the new mixed school an appropriate number of black housing blocks and white housing blocks. Second, in Croson, the Court appeared willing to authorize a government unit to remedy past discrimination for which it was responsible. The en banc Ninth Circuit declared that when a racially diverse school system is the goal (or racial concentration or isolation is the problem), there is no more effective means than a consideration of race to achieve the solution. Parents Involved VII, supra, at 1191. Seattle School District No. http://reportcard. Does that make a difference? This is made for the. Many school districts in the South adopted segregation remedies (to which Swann clearly applies) without any such federal order, see supra, at 1920. 1*, How are the Equal Protection rights of public high school students affected by the jurisprudence of. The plan paired (or triaded) imbalanced black schools with imbalanced white schools. Statement in Davis v. County School Board, O.T. 1952, No. Each respondent has 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. After decades of vibrant life, they would all, under the pluralitys logic, be written out of the law). Because equal protection on the basis of race is at issue, the applicable standard of review to be applied in this case is strict scrutiny, as both parties agree, and as is well established in the Courts prior case law. See post, at 37. . The plurality also points to the school districts use of numerical goals based upon the racial breakdown of the general school population, and it faults the districts for failing to prove that no other set of numbers will work. Roberts cites to: "Id., at 330, 123 S. Ct. 2325, 156 L. Ed. Laws arise from a culture and vice versa. Id., at 21. Well, we want to have the schools that make up the percentage of students of the population). See Part I, supra, at 4; Appendix A, infra. Jefferson County Public Schools operates the public school system in metropolitan Louisville, Kentucky. Even supposing it mattered to the constitutional analysis, the race-based student assignment programs before us are not as benign as the dissent believes. See also Bakke, 438 U. S., at 289291 (opinion of Powell, J.) It is even more difficult to accept the pluralitys contrary view, namely that the underlying plan was unconstitutional. Without attempting in these cases to set forth all the interests a school district might assert, it suffices to note that our prior cases, in evaluating the use of racial classifications in the school context, have recognized two interests that qualify as compelling. Another amicus surveys several social science studies and concludes that a fair and comprehensive analysis of the research shows that there is no clear and consistent evidence of [educational] benefits. Brief for David J. Armor etal. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION etal. PICS disagrees that the race tiebreaker was necessary to the Districts goals, even if the Court finds them to be compelling interests. History should teach greater humility. Having looked at dozens of amicus briefs, public reports, news stories, and the records in many of this Courts prior cases, which together span 50 years of desegregation history in school districts across the Nation, I have discovered many examples of districts that sought integration through explicitly race-conscious methods, including mandatory busing. For example, the dissent features Tometz v. Board of Ed., Waukegan City School Dist. See Johnson, supra, at 505 (We have insisted on strict scrutiny in every context, even for so-called benign racial classifications); Adarand, 515 U. S., at 227 (rejecting idea that benign racial classifications may be held to different standard); Croson, 488 U. S., at 500 (Racial classifications are suspect, and that means that simple legislative assurances of good intention cannot suffice). In each case, the school district relies upon an individual students race in assigning that student to a particular school, so that the racial balance at the school falls within a predetermined range based on the racial composition of the school district as a whole. JCPS is the 26th largest school district in the United States. Electoral district lines are facially race neutral so a more searching inquiry is necessary before strict scrutiny can be found applicable in redistricting cases than in cases of classifications based explicitly on race (quoting Adarand, 515 U. S., at 213)). The cost of busing, the harm that members of all racial communities feared that the Seattle Plan caused, the desire to attract white families back to the public schools, and the interest in providing greater school choice led the board to abandon busing and to substitute a new student assignment policy that resembles the plan now before us. Whatever those demographics happen to be drives the required diversity number in each district. Section 2. [14], Neither school could plead this compelling interest, because "[w]e have emphasized that the harm being remedied by mandatory desegregation plans is the harm that is traceable to segregation, and that 'the Constitution is not violated by racial imbalance in the schools, without more. Const., Amdt. By and large, public education in our Nation is committed to the control of state and local authorities); Brown v. Board of Education, 349 U. S. 294, 299 (1955) (Brown II) (Full implementation of these constitutional principles may require solution of varied local school problems. No. Court-Imposed Guidelines and Busing, 1972 to 1991. In fact, Seattle apparently began to treat these different minority groups alike in response to the federal Emergency School Aid Acts requirement that it do so. In each city the school board modified its plan several times in light of, for example, hostility to busing, the threat of resegregation, and the desirability of introducing greater student choice. See 539 U. S., at 320. of Boston in 1968. 05908, at 284a. Justice Breyer nonetheless relies on the good intentions and motives of the school districts, stating that he has found no case that repudiated this constitutional asymmetry between that which seeks to exclude and that which seeks to include members of minority races. Post, at 29 (emphasis in original). 929; that provision was repealed in 1988, see 102 Stat. The Constitution abhors classifications based on race, not only because those classifications can harm favored races or are based on illegitimate motives, but also because every time the government places citizens on racial registers and makes race relevant to the provision of burdens or benefits, it demeans us all. Grutter, supra, at 353 (opinion of Thomas, J.). In particular, they use race-conscious criteria only to mark the outer bounds of broad population-related ranges. From almost the beginning, the Supreme Court contended that under this article it was unconstitutional for federal courts to issue mere advisory opinions; rather, the federal courts jurisdiction is restricted to deciding actual cases and controversies. The present cases, unlike Fullilove but like our decision in Wygant, 476 U. S. 267, require us to ask whether the Board[s] actions[s] advanc[e] the public interest in educating children for the future, id., at 313 (Stevens, J., dissenting) (emphasis added). It contends that race was used in a narrow way because the race tiebreaker determined the placement of only about ten percent of incoming high school students and was one of several factors under consideration. 1, p.5 (The Fourteenth Amendment precludes a state from imposing distinctions or classifications based upon race and color alone);[Footnote 20] see also In Memoriam: Honorable Thurgood Marshall, Proceedings of the Bar and Officers of the Supreme Court of the United States, X (1993) (remarks of Judge Motley) (Marshall had a Bible to which he turned during his most depressed moments. Second, "the interest in diversity in higher education", as upheld in, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 17:43. of Jefferson Cty., Nos. As to recruiting faculty on the basis of race, both cities have tried, but only as one part of a broader program. In 1977, the NAACP filed another legal complaint, this time with the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfares Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In neither city did these prior attempts prove sufficient to achieve the citys integration goals. 1, 149 Wash. 2d 660, 689690, 663, 72 P.3d 151, 166, 153 (2003) (en banc) (Parents Involved V). Section 5. The Western District of Washington dismissed the suit, upholding the tiebreaker. 1961) (If men were angels, no government would be necessary). 61, 39 Ill. 2d 593, 596598, 237 N.E. 2d 498, 500502 (1968), an Illinois decision, as evidence that state and federal courts had considered the matter settled and uncontroversial. Post, at 25. PARENTS INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, PETITIONER. Section 4. Bustop, addressing in the context of an emergency injunction application a busing plan imposed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, is similarly unavailing. The importance of these differences is clear once one compares the present circumstances with other cases where one or more of these negative features are present. 1996). See Education Commission of the States, Open Enrollment: 50-State Report (2007), online at http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=268. Indeed, the racial theories endorsed by the Seattle school board should cause the dissenters to question whether local school boards should be entrusted with the power to make decisions on the basis of race. In Louisville, a federal court entered a remedial decree. ices Office, District Summaries 19992005, available at The Court emphasized that education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. 347 U. S., at 493. 05908, 426 F.3d 1162; No. Under the Supreme Court's precedents on racial classification in higher education, Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, race-based classifications must be directed toward a "compelling government interest" and must be "narrowly tailored" to that interest. 67759, at 9 (Unlike the Massachusetts Court, the Illinois Supreme Court has recently held its law to eliminate racial imbalance unconstitutional on the ground that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment); ibid., n.1. Brief for Respondents in No. 551 U.S. 701. So long as the plan is narrowly tailored, meaning that it uses the least restrictive means to obtain the benefits that flow from diversity and implements a plan that does not result in an impermissible quota, school districts can have some say in the racial make-up of their student body. Regardless, the plurality cannot object that the constitutional defect is the individualized use of race and simultaneously object that not enough account of individuals race has been taken. These districts have followed this Courts holdings and advice in tailoring their plans. v. Seattle Sch. When a students first choice cannot be accommodated, the District uses race as a tiebreaker in order to achieve a desired racial balance in each individual school. v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 265, 312314 (1978) (opinion of Powell, J.). In both cities plaintiffs filed lawsuits claiming unconstitutional segregation. That case involves the original Seattle Plan, a more heavily race-conscious predecessor of the very plan now before us. Again, data support this insight. Sixteen years into the plan, 14 of 19 middle and high schools remained almost totally white or almost totally black. In a footnote the Justice added a personal mention of Justice Breyer: "Justice Breyer's good intentions, which I do not doubt, have the shelf life of Justice Breyer's tenure. In doing so, it consulted widely with parents and other members of the local community, using public presentations, public meetings, and various other methods to obtain the publics input. The history of each school system reveals highly segregated schools, followed by remedial plans that involved forced busing, followed by efforts to attract or retain students through the use of plans that abandoned busing and replaced it with greater student choice. The Nations schools strive to teach that our strength comes from people of different races, creeds, and cultures uniting in commitment to the freedom of all. Both districts rethought their methods over time and explored a wide range of other means, including non-race-conscious policies. ents in No. 05915, at 43 (Transfer applications can be denied because of lack of available space or, for students in grades other than Primary 1 (kindergarten), the racial guidelines in the Districts current student assignment plan); id., at 29 (The student assignment plan does not apply to . By 1972, however, the Louisville School District remained highly segregated. Student Choice and Project Renaissance, 1991 to 1996. See Plessy, 163 U. S., at 559 (Harlan, J., dissenting) (The white race deems itself to be the dominant race in this country. Seattle provides three forward-lookingas opposed to remedialjustifications for its race-based assignment plan. When a court subjects governmental action to strict scrutiny, it cannot construe ambiguities in favor of the government. The subsequent statements by the unanimous Court in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. Id., at 493494. This Nation has a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill its historic commitment to creating an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all of its children. No. Schools argue that a diverse environment teaches students tolerance and respect, and the exposure to diverse viewpoints enhances education and dispels stereotypes. The Court did not say in Adarand or in Johnson or in Grutter that it was overturning Swann or its central constitutional principle. See Brief for Petitioner at 45. That is a gamble I am unwilling to take, and it is one the Constitution does not allow. The NAACPs Second Legal Challenge, 1977. See id., at 519 (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). I believe only that the Constitution allows democratically elected school boards to make up their own minds as to how best to include people of all races in one America.
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