[Youth-list] Supreme Court Decision Today on Race-based school assignments

[JMRab at aol.com]

courant.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top11jun28,0,5823789.story 
Courant.com
Court Limits Schools on Race, Stops Execution
10:56 AM EDT, June 28, 2007 
WASHINGTON 
 
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The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected school assignment plans that take  
account of students' race in two major public school districts. The decisions  
could imperil similar plans nationwide. The Court also blocked the execution of  
a Texas killer whose lawyers argued that he should not be put to death 
because  he is mentally ill. 

Today is probably the Court's last session until  October. 

The school rulings in cases affecting schools in Louisville,  Ky., and 
Seattle leave public school systems with a limited arsenal to maintain  racial 
diversity. 

The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts  announcing the court's 
judgment. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a dissent that was  joined by the 
court's other three liberals. 

Justice Anthony Kennedy  wrote a concurring opinion in which he said race may 
be a component of school  district plans designed to achieve diversity. 

He agreed with Roberts  that the plans in Louisville and Seattle went too 
far. He said, however, that to  the extent that Roberts' opinion could be 
interpreted as foreclosing the use of  race in any circumstance, "I disagree with 
that reasoning." 

The two  school systems in Thursday's decisions employ slightly different 
methods of  taking students' race into account when determining which school they 
would  attend. 


Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press
 
Janice M. Gruendel, Ph.D.
Governor's Senior Advisor on Early  Childhood
Co-Chair, CT Early Childhood Education Cabinet
Senior Youth  Consultant
Office for Workforce Competitiveness
Home office:  203-481-9940
Blackberry: 203-824-4766
Mail to: 28 Juniper  Point
Branford, CT 06405

"Few will  have the greatness to bend history itself. But each of us can work 
to change a  small portion of events and in the total of those acts will be 
written the  history of this generation." Robert Kennedy



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