« on: July 28, 2016, 01:43:26 am »
A federal judge has ordered Tyler ISD and the U.S. Department of Justice to work together to determine if they can agree on a joint motion for unitary status in the school district’s desegregation case.
TISD was preparing to file a motion for unitary status in federal court to seek the lifting of its 46-year-old desegregation order, an order enacted at a time when the school district operated a racially segregated system.
The district says it needs the desegregation order lifted to have more flexibility and local control.
Prior to filing the motion, TISD’s attorneys notified the court and clerk’s office that they planned to file a lengthy motion.
In response, the court initiated a conference call with attorneys for TISD and the U.S. Department of Justice “to discuss the motion and possible actions,” according to the order.
After the July 19 discussion and at the direction of the court, TISD’s legal team at Fishman Jackson Ronquillo in Dallas submitted a copy of their intended motion for unitary status to the Department of Justice’s attorneys for their review.
Both sides will discuss the motion and determine if they can reach an agreement. They must file a joint status report with the court by Aug. 5.
The parties will consider the “Green factors,” a set of factors established by the Supreme Court to determine if a district has reached unitary status.
A district is deemed unitary when it proves it has complied in good faith with its desegregation order for a reasonable period of time and it has eliminated the vestiges of prior discrimination to the extent practicable.
The Green factors include faculty and staff assignments, transportation, extracurricular activities, facilities and student assignments.
The judge outlined four possible outcomes for the parties’ joint status report: they agree on unitary status as to all the Green factors and any other issues; they agree on unitary status as to some Green factors and disagree on others; they disagree on unitary status in all Green factors; or they agree TISD has achieved unitary status in all Green factors but overall unitary status should be denied for another reason.
In addition, he said, if there is another combination of outcomes or considerations, the parties can discuss those.
If both sides agree to full or partial unitary status, they are to file the motion jointly. If not, TISD’s attorneys are to file their motion, and the court will produce a briefing schedule.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/238873/federal-judge-orders-tisd-justice-department-to-work-together-to-try-to-reach-agreement-on-desegregation-caseThe government keeps trying to keep racism alive after all this time.
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No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~ George Washington
