Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Kim Alton
(202) 662-8600
July 03, 2007

Lawyers' Committee Statement on Supreme Court Decision in K-12 School Diversity Cases
Lawyers' Committee Both Hopeful and Disappointed by Court Opinion

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (“Lawyers' Committee”) views today's Supreme Court opinion on school diversity with both hope and disappointment. By a narrow 5-4 split decision, the Court struck down the diversity programs in Seattle and Louisville, declaring them unconstitutional. However, in a positive sign for the future, a majority of the Justices, including Justice Anthony Kennedy, acknowledged that racial diversity does serve a compelling governmental interest that governments may pursue through careful race-conscious efforts.

The Lawyers' Committee is pleased that a majority of the Court recognized our nation's compelling need for diverse and integrated schools. Fostering equal educational opportunity for every child is crucial to the future of our country. We believe that Justice Kennedy's opinion embraces the importance of local communities establishing and maintaining schools that reflect our nation's highest values. As Justice Kennedy noted, “The Nation has a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill its historic commitment to creating an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all of its children. A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and experience, may choose to pursue.”

The Lawyers' Committee is troubled by Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion which struck down Seattle's and Louisville's voluntary integration programs. In his written opinion, Roberts subscribed to an extreme viewpoint that in the K-12 school context, the voluntary use of race-conscious school assignment plans is unconstitutional.

This blatant misinterpretation of the U.S. Constitution and the purpose of school diversity programs were rejected by a majority of the Court's members. As Justice Kennedy, the swing vote in this decision held, “In the administration of public schools by the state and local authorities, it is permissible to consider the racial makeup of schools and adopt general policies to encourage a diverse student body, one aspect of which is its racial composition.” Therefore, he clearly distanced himself from Justice Roberts in declaring, “To the extent the plurality opinion suggests the Constitution mandates that state and local school authorities must accept the status quo of racial isolation in schools, it is, in my view, profoundly mistaken.”

Justice John Paul Stevens poignantly denounced Chief Justice Roberts for rewriting the history of racial segregation in this country and consequently misconstruing the holding of Brown v. Board of Education-- one of the most important and enduring precedents for eradicating racial inequality and promoting racial integration in education. Further, Justice Steven Breyer declared Justice Roberts' “colorblindness approach to the constitution is incorrect.”

This decision clearly reflects the change in the composition of the Court with the recent addition of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. The Lawyers' Committee expressed concern about Justice Roberts and opposed the confirmation of Justice Alito based upon their record of insensitivity to civil right concerns. Justice Stevens observed the Court's transformation in his dissent when he said, “It is my firm conviction that no Member of the Court I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today's decision.”

As we move forward, the Lawyers' Committee believes that it is important for school districts across the nation to realize that this decision still allows them to work to maintain and achieve racially diverse student populations. However, these programs must be carefully tailored to fit within the requirements set by the Court's recent decision.

“The Lawyers' Committee is committed to working with local communities and school districts across the country to ensure that they continue to promote diversity in a manner that is in compliance with this new opinion,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee.

“It is undisputed that racially integrated schools enhance learning environments and prepare children for our increasingly diverse society. By striking down the two school integration programs, the Court has misconstrued the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and abandoned decades of desegregation case law,” said John Brittain, Chief Counsel of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

The Lawyers' Committee filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the NAACP in these two cases, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District, No. 05-908, and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, No. 05-915.


The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

For more information on the Lawyers' Committee, visit us at www.lawyerscommittee.org



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