In 1896, the Plessey v. Ferguson court decision established the separate but equal doctrine, allowing that it was legal and fair to separate public school students by race and color as long as the education given was equal.
As history has shown, the education was seldom fair or equal. Thus, in 1954 the landmark court decision of Brown v. Topeka Kansas struck down the 1896 decision. It outlawed racial segregation of public school students, ushering in the desegregation of public school institutions across the nation from elementary through college. Public schools were ordered by federal mandate to use race to equitably assign children to public schools; thus, eliminating the segregation that previously was determined by neighborhood residency.
Today, there are two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court that challenge local public school board policies in Louisville and Seattle. The Bush Administration has publicly agreed with the parents, who brought the lawsuits that are in favor of desegregating these schools districts.
The lawsuits argue that desegregation policies are well-intentioned but not constitutional. In order to be legal, desegregation policies must be...