Worsening, unchecked segregation in

K-12 public schools

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.24.16
Word Count 804

This undated photo shows Linda Brown Smith. She was a third-grader when her father started a suit in 1951 known as
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. It led to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision against school
segregation. Photo: AP, File

WASHINGTON, D.C. Poor, black and Hispanic children are once again going to
separate schools from their white, wealthy peers, according to a new government report.
It was released Tuesday, 62 years after the Supreme Court decided that segregated
schools are unequal and against the constitution.

The historic Supreme Court decision was called Brown v. Board of Education. It forced the
country to end dual school systems - one for white kids, one for black students. It also
became a symbol of the ideal that public education is meant to give every child a fair shot
at success.

But that ideal appears to be breaking apart, according to the report from the Government
Accountability Ofce (GAO).

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None Of The Same Opportunities

The number of high-poverty schools attended by mainly black and Hispanic students more
than doubled between 2001 and 2014, the GAO found. A high-poverty school district is
one where more than 75 percent of children receive free or cheaper lunches.

The problem is not just that students are more isolated, according to the GAO. Minority
students in high-poverty schools don't have the same opportunities as students in other
schools.

High-poverty, minority schools were less likely to offer a full range of math and science
courses than other schools, for example. They were also more likely to expel and suspend
students, according to the GAO.

School Segregation Is A Civil Rights Violation

Democratic lawmakers asked the GAO to conduct the study. Two of them, Virginia
Representative Bobby Scott and Michigan Representative John Conyers, held a news
conference Tuesday. They announced legislation that would make it easier for parents to
sue school districts over civil rights.

Scott said the GAO report showed an "overwhelming failure to fulll the promise of Brown."

"Segregation in public K-12 schools isn't getting better; it's getting worse, and getting
worse quickly," he said. More than 20 million students of color now attend high-poverty,
minority schools.

The resegregation of schools has, for the most part, happened quietly.

People have only begun talking recently about segregation. These discussions come amid
national debates about race, racism and growing inequality.

50 Years Of Segregation In Mississippi

Racial divisions in the public schools were highlighted Friday. A federal judge ordered a
Mississippi district to integrate its middle and high schools. The decision ended a legal
battle that had dragged on for ve decades.

As the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi put it, Cleveland, Miss. has
been running an illegal dual system for its children. It failed year after year to reach the
"greatest degree of desegregation possible."

Now all its students must go to one middle school and one high school.

Generations of students were deprived of the right to an integrated education, Judge

Debra Brown wrote.

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Edward Duvall is an African-American parent of two children in Cleveland's public schools.
He said he favored merging the schools. He said it would save money, leaving more
funding for classrooms and programs. But that wasn't his only reason: "We can break
down this wall of racism that divides us and keeps us separated," he said in court
documents. "And we could create a new culture in our school system that's going to unite
us and unite our whole city."

Cleveland schools never fully desegregated. However, many other school districts did
integrate following Brown v. Board. Since the 1990s, though, hundreds of school districts
have gone backward.

Courts Stopped Paying Attention

In 1972, just 25 percent of black students in the South attended the most segregated
schools, according to a 2014 ProPublica news investigation. In these schools, more than
90 percent of students were minorities and other students of color. Courts kept an eye on
many of the districts. Between 1990 and 2011, though, judges stopped paying attention. In
these districts, more than half of students now attend such segregated schools, ProPublica
found.

During that time, the nation's overall student population changed, becoming poorer and
less white. More than half of students are now low-income. Hispanic students are now the
largest minority group in schools, and make up 25 percent of the overall student
population.

Reversing The Damage

Yet, segregation can be reversed, according to Education Secretary John King Jr.

King said that the government must spend more money on "high-needs communities and
high-needs kids." Government choices have created segregated housing and segregated
schools.

"The lack of concern for poor people is deeply disturbing," King said.

Advocates for desegregation have criticized the Obama administration for not taking
meaningful steps to deal with these problems.

Obama has suggested a budget that includes a $120 million program to help local
communities diversify their schools. The money would go for programs that could convince
middle-class families to send their kids to high-poverty schools. The program does not
have much of a chance of being passed by Republican-led Congress, though.

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Quiz

1 Since the 1990s, many school districts have gone backward by becoming more segregated.

Which section BEST explains WHY this has happened?

(A) "None Of The Same Opportunities"

(B) "School Segregation Is A Civil Rights Violation"

(C) "50 Years Of Segregation In Mississippi"

(D) "Courts Stopped Paying Attention"

2 Which piece of evidence from the article BEST explains why segregated schools are unfair for
minority students?

(A) They were also more likely to expel and suspend students, according to the
GAO.

(B) More than 20 million students of color now attend high-poverty, minority
schools.

(C) He said it would save money, leaving more funding for classrooms and
programs.

(D) In these schools, more than 90 percent of students were minorities and other
students of color.

3 Which statement would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

(A) The overall student population in the U.S. has become poorer and less white
over the last several years.

(B) More black students are attending segregated schools today than several
years ago in the South.

(C) Government choices have created segregated housing and segregated

schools, according to the U.S. education secretary.

(D) President Obama's $120 million plan to help local communities diversify their
schools will likely not get funded.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

4 Which of the following answer choices describes two main ideas of the article?

(A) The problem of school segregation has gotten much better overall since
Brown v. Board of Education; too many minority students remain in unequal
schools.

(B) The problem of school segregation can be seen in high-poverty, minority

schools; these schools have more than 75 percent of students receiving free
or cheaper lunches.

(C) The problem of school segregation has become even more of a problem in
many U.S. school districts; it can be reversed through the courts and
through government choices.

(D) The problem of school segregation was ended after Brown v. Board of
Education; black and white students are now most often taught in integrated
classrooms.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Answer Key

1 Since the 1990s, many school districts have gone backward by becoming more segregated.

Which section BEST explains WHY this has happened?

(A) "None Of The Same Opportunities"

(B) "School Segregation Is A Civil Rights Violation"

(C) "50 Years Of Segregation In Mississippi"

(D) "Courts Stopped Paying Attention"

2 Which piece of evidence from the article BEST explains why segregated schools are unfair for
minority students?

(A) They were also more likely to expel and suspend students, according to
the GAO.

(B) More than 20 million students of color now attend high-poverty, minority
schools.

(C) He said it would save money, leaving more funding for classrooms and
programs.

(D) In these schools, more than 90 percent of students were minorities and other
students of color.

3 Which statement would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

(A) The overall student population in the U.S. has become poorer and less white
over the last several years.

(B) More black students are attending segregated schools today than
several years ago in the South.

(C) Government choices have created segregated housing and segregated

schools, according to the U.S. education secretary.

(D) President Obama's $120 million plan to help local communities diversify their
schools will likely not get funded.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

4 Which of the following answer choices describes two main ideas of the article?

(A) The problem of school segregation has gotten much better overall since
Brown v. Board of Education; too many minority students remain in unequal
schools.

(B) The problem of school segregation can be seen in high-poverty, minority

schools; these schools have more than 75 percent of students receiving free
or cheaper lunches.

(C) The problem of school segregation has become even more of a problem
in many U.S. school districts; it can be reversed through the courts and
through government choices.

(D) The problem of school segregation was ended after Brown v. Board of
Education; black and white students are now most often taught in integrated
classrooms.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7