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Arizona Daily Star
6.06.2006
Tucson, Arizona | Published: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/132341 By Daniel Scarpinato
A decision Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether race should
be used to determine where children go to school could lay the groundwork
for how local districts decide which students can go where.
But because of its history of racial inequality, in the short term, the
Tucson Unified School District would be allowed to continue using race to
determine enrollment at its "magnet" schools regardless of the high court's
decision, said Richard Yetwin, an attorney for the district.
Justices said Monday that they will hear arguments from a parents group
opposed to methods used by Seattle's public schools to limit racial
imbalances in its 10 high schools, as well as a similar challenge by a
mother in a Kentucky school district.
Both cases deal with schools voluntarily setting up diversity or
affirmative-action policies, Yetwin said, whereas TUSD's policy stems from a
28-year-old court order requiring the district to meet racial quotas in
determining enrollment at magnet schools.
It doesn't appear that much is at stake for other Tucson-area school
districts because they don't place students based on race.
Still, since TUSD — a district of more than 60,000 students — is actively
lobbying to have the court order lifted, a ruling by the Supreme Court would
lay out the terms by which the district could continue using race as a
factor. Governing Board members and district officials have expressed a
strong desire to maintain some kind of diversity component in student
placement — either through race, socioeconomic status or both.
"I think that the thing we don't want to do is have schools that are solely
of one type of person," TUSD Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer said.
A new policy would likely be more relaxed than the current procedure.
Some TUSD families have argued that policies stemming from the 1978 court
order hurt schools and minority students, since whites are now a statistical
minority in the district.
As a result, minority students are shut out of magnet schools offering
programs such as fine arts and bilingual education simply because of their
races. Meanwhile, white students are a prized commodity — as recruiters
target affluent areas of town trying to lure these students into their
schools.
Also, TUSD residents can't leave the district for schools in other areas
because it would further throw off the racial imbalance.
"If this rules out race, I don't think that is a horrible thing," TUSD
Governing Board member Judy Burns said about a potential court ruling.
"We're denying kids opportunities that we shouldn't be."
Still, while polls show the country is fairly split over the issue of
affirmative action, the public-education system tends to be sympathetic to
the concept of encouraging racial diversity, Yetwin said.
"Many educators believe it's positive to do that," he said.
The ruling wouldn't have any effect on the Sunnyside Unified School
District, spokeswoman Monique Soria said. Soria said the district doesn't
place students based on race. And with Hispanics the majority in the
district — 88 percent of the student body — there are no policies, she said,
that put emphasis on race.
In Seattle, where one of the cases originated, the school district has an
"open-choice" assignment plan that lets students choose their preferred high
school. When requests exceed space, the district gives first priority to
siblings of current students, and then in some cases considers race.
The cases will be the first test for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice
Samuel Alito on the highly charged issue of government efforts to foster
racial diversity. The disputes also will mark the first Supreme Court case
in more than a decade on efforts to desegregate elementary and secondary
schools.
The case isn't likely to have any impact on admissions at the University of
Arizona, said UA spokesman Johnny Cruz, since it deals with school placement
within a district.
In 2003, the Supreme Court said university admissions offices may consider
the race of applicants as a means of fostering diversity, so long as each
application is given individual consideration. The latest cases test how
those principles apply at lower levels, a question that has sparked
litigation around the country. And the central question in the latest cases
is whether the same interest warrants race-conscious assignments at other
levels.
"I truly believe this community values diversity — even with its
challenges," Pfeuffer said. "If you have a community that values diversity,
it would be a blow if you were not able to deal with that diversity as a
strength."
The justices will consider the cases in their 2006-07 term, which begins in
October.
On StarNet Find test results, TUSD news and other educational resources at
azstarnet.com/education
● Bloomberg News and Star reporter Eric Swedlund contributed to this
story. ● Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 807-7789 or dscarpinato@azstarnet.com.
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