The Board of Education of the Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell
1991
"From the very first, federal supervision of local school systems was intended as a temporary measure to remedy past discrimination."
During the year 1972, a federal District Court forced the "Finger Plan" upon the Board of Education of Oklahoma City as a way to decrease segregation within the school system. The "Finger Plan" involved busing black students to white schools. In 1977, the Court decided that the school district had successfully become unitary; thus, the school district did not need the Court's involvement. In 1984, the School Board passed the Student Reassignment Plan (SRP), decreasing busing even more to reduce the commuting time for black children. The Petitioner filed a lawsuit, arguing that the District Court's mandate was still present within the school system (BOARD).
The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's decision. The Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision delivered by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, said that the federal court can remove an injunction with the permission of the school system; however, according to the Supreme Court, in 1977 when the District Court decided to revoke the "Finger Plan," not enough integration existed to remove the plan. Instead, the Supreme Court contested that the plan should only be removed if the school system "operat[ed] in compliance with the commands of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that it was unlikely that the school board would return to its former ways" (Dayton).
The Supreme Court suggested using the Green factors to determine whether a school district had become unitary. The Court also noted that integration policies and plans can be removed only when the school district can prove that segregation has been eliminated (BOARD).
SOURCES:
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF OKLAHOMA CITY v. DOWELL. (2012). The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved December 5, 2012 from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1990/1990_89_1080#chicago.
Dayton, John, J.D., Ed.D. (2012). Education Law: Principles, Policies, and Practice. Wisdom Builders Press.