San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District
USINFO | 2014-01-08 14:33
In 1983, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) attempted to ensure racial desegregation at Lowell and other schools by implementing a race-based admissions policy as a result of San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District and the 1983 Consent Decree settlement.

Because of the Consent Decree, SFUSD strived to create a more equal distribution of race at Lowell, which was predominantly Chinese American, particularly trying to introduce more African American and Hispanic students into the school's population. As a result of this policy, effective in 1985, Chinese-American freshman applicants needed to score 65 out of a possible total of 69 eligibility points, whereas Caucasian and other East Asian candidates needed only 61 points.
 
Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District (1990s)
Main article: Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District
In 1994, a group of Chinese-American community activists organized a lawsuit to challenge the 1983 Consent Decree race-based admissions policies used by SFUSD for its public schools.

In 1999, both parties agreed to a settlement which modified the 1983 Consent Decree to create a new "diversity index" system which substituted race as a factor for admissions with a variety of factors such as socioeconomic background, mother's educational level, academic achievement, language spoken at home, and English Learner Status.
 
Expiration of the Consent Decree
Critics of the diversity index created by Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District point out that many schools, including Lowell, have become even less racially diverse since it was enacted.

On November 15, 2005, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied a request to extend the Consent Decree, which was set to expire on December 31, 2005 after it had been extended once before to December 31, 2002. The ruling claimed "since the settlement of the Ho litigation [resulting in the institution of the "diversity index"], the consent decree has proven to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, in achieving diversity in San Francisco public schools" by making schools more racially segregated.

The expiration of the Consent Decree means that SFUSD's admissions policies, including the "diversity index" and the special admissions policies granted to Lowell, and many of its "Dream School" initiatives are no longer codified and mandated by the Consent Decree. As a result, these policies may be challenged at the community and local levels as well instead of just at the judicial level by filing a lawsuit.
美闻网---美国生活资讯门户
©2012-2014 Bywoon | Bywoon