The US Department of Justice and the Madison County School Board of Alabama have reached an agreement regarding a long-running desegregation case. The district agreed to take measures to make sure Black students have equal educational opportunities including gifted programs and college prep classes. It’s nearly as if they pretended Brown v Board just didn’t exist.
DOJ previously stated they found several discriminatory issues in their review of the district such as Black students being subject to discipline more often than white students and Black high schoolers being more likely to be referred for subjective infractions, per ABC affiliate WHNT. Also, their recruitment processes left several schools without even one Black faculty member.
Now, the DOJ gave the district specific requirements on how to address the racial desegregation they’ve practiced.
More from the Department of Justice:
Under the terms of the consent order, the district will, among other requirements:
Improve its gifted identification policies, training and practices; expand access to advanced placement and other advanced curricula; and identify and remove existing barriers for Black students;
Engage a third-party consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the district’s discipline policies and procedures; revise the code of conduct; train staff on classroom behavior management; and collect and review discipline data to identify and address trends and concerns;
Review faculty hiring, recruitment and retention practices to identify barriers for diverse applicants, improve recruitment and retention of Black teachers and administrators, and ensure their equitable assignment to schools;
Appoint a district-level administrator to oversee implementation of the agreement and professional development for faculty, staff and administrators; and
Work with a newly-constituted and diverse Desegregation Advisory Committee.
“It is long past time to deliver on the promises of Brown v. Board of Education for our nation’s students,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to ensuring that all students receive the educational opportunities they deserve across the Madison County School District. The Civil Rights Division will continue to fight on behalf of students in school districts that have not yet fulfilled their legal obligation to eliminate racial segregation ‘root and branch.’”
The school system will also be reporting regularly to the court, Justice Department and the plaintiffs represented by the NAACP Legal Defense fund. The district’s compliance with the order will be monitored for three years, according to The Associated Press.