Georgia Federal Court Says Separate But Equal Schools Are Once Again OK

A federal district court in Georgia has ruled that a condition of racial segregation in the local schools caused by grouping students according to their perceived ability is not unconstitutional. The school district tracks students according to their ability as measured on standardized tests. In some cases this tracking begins in kindergarten. The result has been that black students make up the majority in the groups with lower perceived ability whereas the vast majority of white children are placed in the higher ability groups.

In Shernika Holton, Thomas County Branch of the NAACP et al. v. City of Thomasville School District, the court ruled that race was not the deciding factor as to where students were placed. It also said the current racial imbalance was not impacted to any degree by the district’s history of de jure racial segregation prior to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.