By Smith Ghosh

District Court Judge revisits student assignment in Louisville… history of Virginia’s “massive resistance” to integration critically recounted… New Orleans parents discuss opposition to district’s desegregation plan… Massachusetts officials announce supportive charter school policy… Harvard researchers encourage regional charter schools to promote student integration… D.C. mayor reverses City Council decisions that would limit his control of education… New York City principal accuses charter schools of “dumping” challenged students.

JCPS Student Assignment Case Transferred to Original Judge

Louisville Courier Journal – July 20, 2009

In a July 17 order, a U.S. District Court Judge transferred a case challenging the Jefferson County School District’s student assignment plan to Judge John G. Heyburn II, who ruled on the District’s previous plan when it was challenged in a 2004 lawsuit.  The current case was brought by Sukhjit Bains, the father of a kindergarten student who claims that the district discriminated against his daughter on the basis of race by not allowing her into the elementary school of their choice.

Black Students Recount Early Days of Integration

Roanoke Times – July 19, 2009

Former students, academics and politicians recounted Virginia’s “massive resistance” to school integration at a conference hosted by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. The conference participants, who met at the state capitol on July 19, recounted their experiences before and after the end of legal segregation in the state.

Parents Meet After Filing School Desegregation Suit

WDSU.com – July 18, 2009

Concerned African-American parents met in New Orleans on July 18 to discuss the quality of education that their children are receiving in Jefferson Parish schools.  Parents voiced their concern over the district’s desegregation plan, which restricts students to schools that are closer to their neighborhood, and their representation in the federal court.  Parents were particularly concerned with attorney Gideon Carter, who they said is acting on their behalf without their input.

Test Scores Drove Charter Decision

The Boston Globe – July 17, 2009

In a joint press event on July 16, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, both known to be charter school skeptics, unveiled a proposal to effectively double the number of charter schools in the state’s worst-performing districts.  Patrick denied any relationship between his decision and Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s recent threat to exclude states that do not expand charter schools from more than $4 billion in federal funding.

Charters Must Commit to Diversity

The Boston Globe – July 19, 2009

In an editorial, Susan Eaton and Gina Chirichigno, researchers at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, review data suggesting that charter schools do not necessarily better serve students in comparison to public schools, and that charters, without appropriate regulation, can exacerbate socio-economic and racial segregation.  The researchers encourage Massachusetts officials to set a federal course on charter policy by incentivizing the creation of regional charter programs that serve diverse areas.

Latest Fenty Budget Cuts Funds for Schools Evaluation

The Washington Post – July 21, 2009

In another development spotlighting the rise of mayoral control in the nation’s largest cities, Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has eliminated funding for an independent evaluator assigned to assess the progress of public school reform under Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, in a revised budget that he submitted to the D.C. Council on July 17.  Fenty also reversed a series of other budget measures, approved by the council in May, which sought to divert some of the mayor’s control of education to other agencies.  The City Council can reverse the funding cuts when they vote on the budget on July 31.

Charter Schools Pawn Off Flunking Students, Says Public School Principal

Daily News – July 19, 2009

Melessa Avery, principal of Public School 273 in East New York, says that her school received several transfer students from high-performing charter schools in the month before school exams.  Avery, with several other parents and teachers, claims that charters push out students who may perform poorly on tests.

Smita Ghosh is a Paralegal in the Education Practice of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.