Inside Trump's push against school desegregation plans

Data: Department of Justice; Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosThe Trump administration is signaling it wants to ditch federal desegregation efforts in public school systems, a move that would end much-debated, decades-old programs mainly aimed at improving education opportunities for nonwhite students. Why it matters: Lifting desegregation policies set by federal rules and court orders — some of them a half-century old — could lead to a wide range of changes in more than 80 school systems Axios has identified as still being under such requirements.Those systems, primarily in the South, would no longer have to follow policies that set flexible transfer rules, school boundary guidelines, diversity hiring goals, and requirements for equal resources among schools, for example. It also would mean that Black and Latino parents in school systems that have been historically resistant to desegregation efforts likely would have less help tackling allegations of discrimination. State of play: This month, the Trump administration moved to dismiss a school desegregation case in Louisiana that began in 1966 in mostly white Plaquemines Parish.Plaquemines schools — like many systems targeted by the government's efforts — were run by white segregationists when Lyndon Johnson's administration sued the district for resisting the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision, which outlawed racial segregation in schools.Now, President Trump's Justice Department says it has "righted a historical wrong" by "freeing" the Plaquemines school board from federal oversight.The DOJ and Plaquemines school officials — who say their district addressed its equity issues long ago — have asked a judge to dismiss the case.After that announcement, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) said she wants to end more desegregation orders in the state.To close desegregation cases, the U.S. government and a school system must agree to end monitoring agreements or get approval from a federal judge in most cases.The big picture: Trump's administration has been focused on removing programs that have benefited people in historically disadvantaged communities — and on fighting what it has called anti-white discrimination.The administration, for example, has said the U.S. government no longer will unequivocally prohibit contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.Trump also has revoked President Johnson's decades-old order on diversity and affirmative action practices in the U.S. government.Zoom in: Like those in Plaquemines, some school officials in districts still under desegregation orders say they've met their integration and equity goals — and that the orders still in effect amount to government overreach at a time when enrollments are more diverse than ever.However, civil rights advocates argue that desegregation programs are still necessary, citing ongoing disparities in educational opportunities and test scores.The advocates also point to the "resegregation" happening in many systems, as white students disproportionately leave neighborhood schools for charter and private schools.By the numbers: At least 84 school districts remain under court orders or federal monitoring agreements, an Axios review found.More than half of those districts — 63% — are in Alabama, Georgia or Mississippi in the South's "Black Belt," a rural and historically impoverished area with large Black populations dating back to enslavement.Another 26% of the districts are in Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Zoom in: The Huntsville City (Ala.) system is among the districts that still have active desegregation orders.The district has struggled since 1970 to adjust school zoning policies that often have reinforced racial divides and limited extracurricular activities for Black students, according to court documents. The school district recently filed for a partial release from its desegregation order. The Trump administration's Justice Department didn't object.What they're saying: Raymond Pierce, president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, tells Axios the Trump administration appears to see school desegregation with the disdain it's shown for DEI programs."They want to blend diversity, equity and inclusion with civil rights," Pierce said. "DEI is good policy, but desegregation is the law."Pierce added that many districts that still have desegregation orders have never adopted effective plans, and have been waiting for an administration that would de-emphasize them."These are places that never desegregated seriously, so the chances that minority students will get any response from the courts in the future to violations of rights will vanish," said Gary Orfield, co-director of the UCLA Civil Rights Project.Noliwe Rooks, author of "Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children," told Axios that desegregation failed to address many Black students' needs — whether that meant upgrading their schools, moving them to better ones or providing equal resources. "How robust was it?" Rooks said of desegregation efforts."How available was it to all, and where has it led us?"More from Axios:The resegregating (and diversifying) of U.S. schoolsGen X: The last generation of school racial integration

Comments

World news

Abandoned ‘dead’ city once thriving now a haven for dark tourism

Express

Comments

Similar News

Inside abandoned farm buildings where cops held new search for Madeleine McCann

Death, violence and endless delay: Inside Africa’s most troubled energy project

Terrifying moment car dangles precariously over sheer cliff drop sparking frantic mission to save occupants inside

'I went inside the new Madeleine McCann search area - and here's what I found'

Inside the Gen Z activist group threatening to ‘shut down London this summer’

Halifax woman speaks out after 88-year-old mother robbed as she slept inside hospital

‘Everybody’s fed up’: Inside the Algarve resort haunted by the disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Kidnapper sentenced to nearly 400 years after holding woman inside hotel room and raping her for two years

Possible iPhone spyware campaign inside U.S. discovered by researchers

Inside abandoned Madeleine McCann search farmhouse as new 'evidence' found

Inside twisted crew on Greta Thunberg’s Gaza ‘Freedom Flotilla’ from terrorist sympathiser to Nazi-ranting TV presenter

Inside abandoned UK theatre frozen in time with forbidden vending machine

Shovels, pickaxes and an abandoned farmhouse: Inside the new search for Madeleine McCann as police race against time

Three Brits face firing squad for ‘smuggling cocaine inside Angel Delight sachets’

Trump is ‘obsessed’ about having a call with China’s Xi this week to hammer out trade deal, insiders reveal

ICE wants an office inside NYC’s notorious Rikers Island jail. A judge might end those hopes

Shovels, pickaxes and an abandoned farmhouse: Inside the search for Madeleine McCann near Praia da Luz

Trump insiders are tired of Laura Loomer’s sway - but admit her political influence keeps rising from the dead

Inside the Ukrainian frontline strip club where brave dancers flout curfew to perform to punters enduring hell of war

British nurse describes horrific scene inside Spanish bar where Scottish gangsters were shot dead - and reveals moving gesture she made to help one of the men as he lay dying

World news

Abandoned ‘dead’ city once thriving now a haven for dark tourism

Putin bombards Ukraine with huge overnight drone attack as 3 killed and dozens injured

Spain panic as 'over 20,000 people' left major city in 1 year over tourism-linked crisis

Body of Thai hostage has been retrieved in Gaza, Israel defence minister says

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces strike Kharkiv with ‘most powerful’ attack since start of war

Is this the end of the road in the hunt for Madeleine McCann? How the desperate new search unfolded in Portugal

David Attenborough’s 'Ocean' is a brutal, beautiful wakeup call from the sea

How a multibillion dollar defence bank could help Canada increase its military spending

Putin’s secret daughter, 22, ‘working in anti-war art gallery in Paris’ after ‘ditching tyrant’s name’

World’s tallest railway bridge higher than Eiffel Tower opens in India as £200million project hailed as ‘crown jewel’

The world's oldest road is 4,325 years old and even had a pavement

The house engineers have built a motorway around - and it's not the M62

Full list of Europe's 52 'severely endangered' languages - one has just 20 speakers

As Putin ramps up his summer offensive in Ukraine, will he succeed?

Republicans call for an end to Trump-Musk feud: ‘I hope it doesn’t distract us’

Emergency workers search for survivors after aerial attack on Kharkiv kills 3

'They're worried': Liberal MP plans to raise concerns about Modi visit to Carney

Putin unleashes aerial glide bombs in ‘most powerful attack of entire war’ on Kharkiv

CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: 'Donald Trump's attack dog Marjorie Taylor Greene is furious - with herself'

Tourist, 12, slipped in puddle before falling off cliff to his death, inquest told

Africa's biggest country with white sand beaches and 'barely any tourists'

The huge country where less than 1% speak English but still gets 600k British tourists

So now you know, SNP: indy is not what people care about

Russia pummels Ukraine's second-largest city with 'most powerful drone strike' since start of war

From Pakistan to Spain via the Canaries, smugglers are using longer, more dangerous migration routes

Drought, rising prices and dwindling herds undercut this year's Eid al-Adha in North Africa

Can an American pope apply US-style fundraising and standards to fix troubled Vatican finances?

How the Vatican manages money and where Pope Leo XIV might find more

Putin bombards Ukraine with drone & missile blitz killing at least 3 & injuring 21 after Op Spiderweb ‘revenge’ strikes

Meet Ukraine’s special ops unit wiping out Putin’s war machine from bomber blitz to £3bn bridge… & what they’ll hit next

The dystopian megacity bigger than Scotland where 2,600,000 cameras are always watching

‘I suffered through my GCSEs with heavy periods – it was painful and embarrassing’

Easy ways to make flowers last all summer – and banish aphids without chemicals

My no-fly journey to Morocco was a childhood dream come true

Jack Grealish has just been told how to get back in England squad

Trumpism is a greater danger to Europe than Putin

Science shows variety makes us happier – this is how to break from routine

Pensions tax and capital gains raid likely targets for Reeves

Thomas Frank’s first task at Spurs would be an unenviable one

Marchand scores in double OT, Panthers beat Oilers 5-4 to tie series 1-1

Tourist visits 'world's most dangerous city' and can't believe how beautiful the beach is

Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars

Five busted in $500K-plus Windsor whisky heist — hunt continues for others

Diplomatic win for UK hosting US-China trade talks

Six ways to help your ADHD child be happy – by a mum who spent 10 years trying

Crystal Palace are the scapegoats for Man City’s rule-bending

How Trump and Musk’s explosive feud could escalate further

Gary Lineker deserves a knighthood over David Beckham

Vance and Trump in ‘outrageous’ and ‘appalling’ bid to subvert EU democracy

NHS app rollout – what it means for your healthcare

Paul Hollywood’s go-to summer bakes, including a mouthwatering sausage plait

‘Austerity doesn’t work’: Why taxes will have to rise, by Labour insiders

The prick of a finger sheds light on medical mystery

Dr Hazel Wallace: ‘I’m a doctor – it still took years to get my PCOS diagnosis’

Southern Alberta museum staff find live grenade in archives

The furniture fraud that hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles

Biggest drone strike hits Ukraine's second city