San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District

ORDER DENYING PROPOSED EXTENSION OF CONSENT DECREE

INTRODUCTION

A half-century ago, in the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 , 74 S.Ct. 686 , 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954), the Supreme Court called for an end to de jure school segregation. Commenced in 1978, this class action accused the San Francisco Unified School District of de jure segregation. Although this charge was never proven, a settlement in 1983 resulted in a consent decree.

For twenty-two years, the consent decree has regulated all public school assign ments for San Francisco’s children. At first, the decree resulted in better racial integration. Later, as a result of a different lawsuit challenging the decree, the parties agreed on a different method for student assignment, one that incorporated a system called the “diversity index.” This proved to be a misnomer, for it has not achieved diversity in any meaningful sense. To the contrary, the student-assignment system imposed by the negotiated revision has allowed, if not fostered, resegregation in San Francisco schools.

Since the case was reassigned to the undersigned judge on January 11, 2002, the Court has repeatedly urged the parties to fix the…