LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- The date has been set for the Kentucky Supreme Court to hear the case involving Jefferson County Public Schools and whether its students can attend the school closest to them.
The court will take up that case at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18th.
An appeals court ruled back in September that JCPS students must be allowed to enroll in schools closest to their homes. The court addressed the issue of desegregation by concluding that a history of segregation in a community cannot override the right of students to attend the closest school.
JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens was out of town on Friday but released this statement: "We are very pleased that the Supreme Court granted our motion and agreed to hear this case over the Plaintiffs' objections. We look forward to arguing this case before the Supreme Court and hope that the Court will agree with Judge Maze's previous ruling."
Attorney Teddy Gordon and his team of lawyers argued that busing back in the 70s was to desegregate schools, but now that type of busing is not needed.
In fact, the court said that the practice of busing to end segregation became unnecessary in the year 2000.
The ruling put it this way:
"JCPS is the largest school district in the Commonwealth and for the past thirty-five years has developed a complex system to rid itself of the vestiges of de jure segregation; it is to be commended. However, the history of segregation by itself cannot justify a judicial exemption from the statutory mandate. The day when involuntary busing was justifiable and necessary, based on the federal court's mandate to desegregate, ended in 2000 when the desegregation decree was dissolved."
A state statute says "parents or legal guardians shall be permitted to enroll their children in the public school nearest their home." The ruling put it this way:
"Busing creates the impediment of distance among parent, child, and school and, therefore, increases the difficulty of family involvement. A child who attends a school other than one located in his or her neighborhood must board the bus earlier and arrive home later, spending idle time without the supervision of teachers or parents. It is time otherwise that could be spent with family, participating in extracurricular activities, studying, and bonding with neighborhood friends."
The question now is what does "enroll" mean? JCPS says it's the act of registering your child.
JCPS also says allowing students to attend neighborhood schools would end magnet schools. A 2007 Supreme Court decision said JCPS could not use race as the sole factor for assigning students.
The current assignment plan also uses a parent's education and household income.
JCPS has said if the court forces the system to adopt a plan favoring neighborhood schools, the case could head to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
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