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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to strike down voluntary integration plans in public schools of Seattle and Louisville, Ky. The court’s June 28 decision overturned both districts’ use of race as a factor when assigning students to schools.

Seattle used race as a tiebreaker when placing students in high school. Jefferson County, which was under a desegregation order that ended in 2000, used race to make student assignments beginning at the elementary school level.

Parents filed suit in both cases, alleging that using race as a factor in school assignments violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under law.

The court said the school districts had to prove there was a compelling government interest that justified the “extreme” means that they used. The court reasoned that “racial classifications are simply too pernicious to permit any but the most exact connection” between the use of race and the goals of the program.

Although remedying the effects of past intentional discrimination is a compelling interest, that interest was not involved in these cases because both the Seattle and Jefferson County schools were operating voluntary desegregation programs.

Impact on New Jersey New Jersey law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race. Districts that use race as a factor in making student assignments should consult their board attorneys to make sure that such assignments comply with federal and state laws.

However, it remains to be seen if the ruling has any effect on de-regionalization efforts or the dissolution of sending-receiving relationships. In New Jersey, the state education commissioner must ensure such proposals will not have a negative impact on educational quality, undermine financial stability of the districts involved, or bring about an adverse racial impact.

The National School Boards Association expressed disappointment in the ruling, but officials noted that a majority of the court recognized the ability of school boards to continue to maintain racial diversity as a legitimate educational goal. NSBA filed court briefs in support of the school districts.