Today's SCOTUS Decision re: public school diversity considerations

[PeppyGPhiB]

This has been a major deal in Seattle for years now. The reason why the Seattle School District was using race as a consideration when placing students was because most of the parents/kids in the district were trying to get into the same few high schools every year.

The district did away with mandatory bussing in the 90s, opening it up to allow students in the district to attend whichever school they wanted. But, unfortunately a lot of kids/parents didn't want the high school in their neighborhood...they wanted a few schools that are known as being better scholastically and as having more resources for students. The demand for those handful of schools got to be so high that the district needed to find a way to restrict enrollment. Since Seattle is a very diverse city racially, and the district and community sees the value in integration, the district thought race was something they should consider when admitting students. It was not the only thing they considered, however.

This was also happening in the Seattle School District because the city is divided not just racially but economically. There are several very wealthy, white neighborhoods in Seattle, and some lower-income black neighborhoods. Although it's not true that all the good high schools are in the wealthier neighborhoods, many are. I think the district was afraid that if it told everyone they had to go to their neighborhood school, the white rich kids would get a great education and the poor black kids would flunk/drop out. It would also lead to a self-segregated district.

Unfortunately, some families have horror stories about their kids being only admitted into high schools across the city, and this goes for elementary/middle schools as well as high schools (though I suspect there's more competition for high schools). Some white kids would get sent to a school in a black neighborhood, and black kids who wanted that school would get sent to the white high school because there were too many black kids at their neighborhood school.

I think this ruling will be good for the district. First, I think families should have the right to consider the local schools their children will attend when choosing where to make their home. Second, I think this will build a better sense of community surrounding each school, which is definitely needed in the Seattle School District right now (they need all the support they can get). And thirdly, I think the segregation that will come as a result of this ruling will force the district to strengthen the schools in lower income and minority-populated neighborhoods. When the diversity policy was in place, the test scores, graduation rates, etc. were fairly similar across the board, with the exception of a few schools. Now I think there will be clear lines drawn, and the district will be confronted with the reality that its low-income students are doing poorly while its white/asian wealthy students are performing at the top levels.