WASHINGTON — This week, the Justice Department marked a significant step in civil rights history by ending a school desegregation order in Louisiana, which officials have labeled as a “historical wrong.” They hinted that more orders originating from the Civil Rights Movement era might warrant reevaluation.
Announcing on Tuesday the termination of the 1966 legal accord with Plaquemines Parish schools, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated that the Trump administration aims to direct America’s focus towards a prospering future. Within the Justice Department, individuals appointed by former President Donald Trump have shown interest in dissolving other desegregation orders they deem superfluous burdens on educational institutions, according to a non-publicly authorized individual familiar with the scenario.
Many Southern school districts remain subject to judicially enforced agreements mandating integration efforts, long after the Supreme Court denounced racial segregation in education. Some view the longevity of these court orders as exhibiting the government’s failure to completely abolish segregation, whereas others in Louisiana argue these mandates are obsolete and should be annulled.
The Justice Department spearheaded numerous lawsuits in the 1960s after Congress empowered it to pursue schools defying desegregation. Once districts demonstrate elimination of segregation and its lingering effects, these consent decrees can be lifted.
The Plaquemines case, situated in Louisiana’s small district in the Mississippi River Delta Basin, was highlighted by the Trump administration as an instance of administrative negligence. Although integration was evident by 1975, the case endured under judicial scrutiny. When the judge passed away the same year, related court records were reportedly lost, as per court documentation.
A statement from both the Justice Department and the office of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill indicated satisfaction that United States’ claims in the case have been thoroughly addressed, pointing out the absence of action over decades.
Shelley Ritz, Superintendent of Plaquemines, noted Justice Department visits persisted up till 2023, which involved data requests on matters such as hiring and discipline — an administrative demand on the district’s limited resources.
Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department expressed in a statement that this dismissal corrects a historical oversight, acknowledging Louisiana’s progress over the years and advocating for moving past historical legacies. Liz Murrill has also urged the Justice Department to retract other school orders within the state, emphasizing collaboration with Louisiana schools to close the historical chapter.
Conversely, civil rights activists argue that this is a step in the wrong direction. Despite being lightly enforced, these orders, many activists insist, are still necessary, as Jonathan Smith, former Justice Department employee under President Joe Biden, remarked that district segregation remains prevalent, or has even worsened since 1954.
Numerous school systems remain under the Justice Department’s desegregation orders according to a recent court filing, with most located in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, alongside fewer in states including Florida and Louisiana. These orders encompass various solutions, such as busing mandates or enabling transfers from predominantly Black to predominantly White schools. Additionally, separate agreements exist between certain districts and the Education Department.
In Alabama’s Leeds district, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund reinstated a consent decree in 2020 over pandemic-induced school meal suspension, arguing its disproportional impact on Black students violating the desegregation order. Subsequent to intervention, the district resumed meal provisions.
The recent case dismissal has evoked worry among those fearing the reversal of progress. Research indicates that districts released from desegregation orders have frequently seen heightened racial segregation compared to those under judicial oversight.
Halley Potter of The Century Foundation emphasized potential civil rights concerns with rapid resegregation if existing orders were eliminated, while Robert Westley, a professor at Tulane University Law School, suggested that ending these orders might indicate a diminished governmental focus on school racial discrimination.
Future intentions to terminate additional cases could encounter strong legal contestation, warned Raymond Pierce, the Southern Education Foundation’s CEO. He indicated such actions reveal a dismissal of broad educational opportunities crucial for an informed workforce and adherence to law.