THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI JACKSON DIVISION

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

Civil Action No. 70 CV 4706

THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI et al.,

Defendants,

and

Defendants- Intervenors.

APR 1 3 2010

WALTHALL COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT et aI.,

ORDER

This case originated on July 9, 1970, when the United States filed a complaint against the

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State of Mississippi seeking to enjoin the state from operating a racially dual system of public I

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schools. The Walthall County School District ("District") subsequently filed a motion to

intervene as a party-defendant. On August 11, 1970, the Court entered an Order that inter alia

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adopted a desegregation plan agreed to by the United States and the District, and erijoined the

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District "from failing or refusing to take such steps as are necessary to terminate t~e operation of

a racially dual school system and to operate, now and hereafter, a non-racial, unitary system of

public schools." Order at 2. The Court also retained jurisdiction over the case "to insure full

compliance with this order and to modify or amend the same as may be deemed necessary or

desirable for the operation of a unitary school system." Id.

On November 6, 2007, the United States sent the District an information request for the

purpose of determining whether the District was operating its schools in compliance with the August 11, 1970 Order and federal law. The District submitted its response to the United States on January 29, 2008.

This information prompted the United States to move the Court for further relief, asserting two violations of the operative desegregation order and federal law. First; the United States claims that the District annually permits over three hundred transfer students - the vast majority of whom are white - to attend Salem Attendance Center even though they reside in the Tylertown attendance zone. As a result of these transfers, Salem Attendance Center has allegedly become a racially identifiable white school while the student enrollment of the Tylertown schools has become predominantly black. Second, classroom data furnished by the District allegedly indicates that District administrators group, or "cluster," disproportionate numbers of white students into designated classrooms at Tylertown Primary School, Tylertown Lower Elementary School, and Tylertown Upper Elementary School (hereafter "Tylertown Elementary Schools"), resulting in significant numbers of segregated, all-black classrooms at each grade level.

The Walthall County School District has notified the Court that it does not intend to file a response to the United States' motion for further relief. Having confirmed the existence of these practices, which violate the August 11, 1970 Order and federal law, the Court ORDERS, ADJUDGES AND DECREES the following:

I. Intra-District Transfers

A. The District shall deny all requests for intra-district transfers unless the studentapplicant satisfies one of the following four criteria:

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1. The health or safety of the student is in jeopardy, and a transfer to the receiving school is necessary to ameliorate the medical or security risks arising from the student's condition (hereafter the "Health/Safety Exception");

2. The student requires a transfer due to a substantial non-medical hardship as defined in Appendix A (hereafter the "Substantial Hardship Exception");

3. The student's parent is a full-time employee at the receiving school; or

4. The student is transferring from a school where he/she is in the racial majority to a school where he/she is in a racial minority.

B. No application for a transfer pursuant to the Health/Safety Exception shall be granted unless the student submits a signed letter from a medical doctor setting forth the circumstances that render the transfer necessary.

C. No application for a transfer pursuant to the Substantial Hardship Exception shall be granted unless the student submits detailed documentation from a doctor or other authority who can confirm the hardship, and explain how the hardship will be ameliorated by a transfer to the requested school.

D. Within thirty (30) days, the District shall amend its Student Transfer Policy to reflect the requirements set forth in Paragraph I.A and Paragraph I.B, above, and submit the Amended Student Transfer Policy to the Court for approval.

E. The Amended Student Transfer Policy shall take effect immediately after the 2009-2010 academic year concludes. Any transfer application for the 2010-2011

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academic year (or any subsequent academic year) shall be denied ifit does not meet the requirements set forth herein and codified in the Amended Student Transfer Policy.

1. Students who currently attend Salem Attendance Center as intra-district transfers, and who will be rising seniors at the conclusion of the 2009- 2010 academic year (i.e., students scheduled to graduate from Salem Attendance Center in 2011), are exempt from the provisions of the Amended Student Transfer Policy. Accordingly, the District may approve transfer requests submitted by a student-applicant in Salem's Class of 2011 regardless of whether the student satisfies the requirements of Paragraph LA, above.

F. Prior to the commencement of the 2010-2011 academic year, the District shall take all necessary steps to accommodate the shifting enrollment patterns in District schools expected to result from the mandatory modifications to the District's Student Transfer Policy delineated above.

1. Prior to the commencement of the 2010-2011 academic year, the District shall assign sufficient faculty members and administrators to each District school to ensure the effective delivery of educational services to all students at the school for which they are residentially zoned.

2. Prior to the commencement of the 2010-2011 academic year, the District shall ensure that the physical condition of each school facility is adequate to satisfactorily accommodate the anticipated enrollment for each

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respective school.

II. Student Classroom AssiKnment

A. The District shall cease using race in the assignment of students to classrooms in a manner that results in the racial segregation of students.

B. The District shall randomly assign students to classrooms at the Tylertown

Elementary Schools through the use of a student management software program. The District's random assignment policy shall adhere to the following requirements:

1. Once the random assignment system designates a classroom assignment for each student, the student shall be assigned to that classroom, subject to the following exceptions:

a. Students may be reassigned to a different classroom in cases of extreme hardship or emergency.

b. Students in gifted programs and students with Individual Education Plans ("IEPs") may be concentrated in particular classrooms to ease scheduling burdens.

c. Students randomly assigned to a teacher who is a parent or relative may be reassigned to a different classroom.

d. If students with a history of inappropriate interaction are assigned to the same classroom, the District may reassign the minimum students necessary to ensure reasonable classroom harmony.

e. Any student transferring into the District may be assigned to a

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classroom where a student either did not re-enroll or moved out of the District in order to equalize approximately the number of students enrolled in each classroom.

f. If, after the random assignment procedure and all reassignments are complete, the number of students assigned to each classroom at a particular grade level is not approximately equal, the District may redistribute students to equalize the enrollment of each classroom in the particular grade.

III. Reportine Requirements

The District shall provide the following information to the United States for each academic year:

A. Intra-District Transfers

1. July 15

a. The District shall continue to report the number of inter-district and intra-district transfers for the prior academic year, broken down by race, sending/receiving school, and sending/receiving district, as required by the August 11, 1970 Order.

b. For each intra-district transfer, the District shall denote the specific exception to the Student Transfer Policy warranting the transfer, and provide all documentation relied upon by the District in approving the transfer.

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B. Student Classroom Assignment
1. October 15
a. The District shall produce the results of the District's random
assignment program at the Tylertown Elementary Schools. For each
classroom, the District shall state the grade level; the name and race
of the teacher; and the name, race, and gender of each student.
b. The District shall produce the actual enrollment for each classroom
at the Tylertown Elementary Schools as it was on the thirtieth (30th)
day of the school year. For each classroom, the District shall state
the grade level; the name and race of the teacher; and the name,
race, and gender of each student. For each student who is in a
different classroom than the classroom assigned through the random
assignment process, the District shall state the reason that the
student was moved to a different classroom.
2. July 15

a. The District shall produce the actual enrollment for each classroom at the Tylertown Elementary Schools as it was on the first day of the fourth nine-week grading period. For each classroom, the District shall state the grade level; the name and race of the teacher; and the name, race, and gender of each student.

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IV. Effect of Prior Orders

All Orders not inconsistent herewith remain in full force and effect.

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ORDER entered into and approved on this !:3 day of ~ ,2010.

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