Black People : Little Rock desegregation plans go back to court

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — More than a half-century after federal troops escorted nine black students into an all-white school, efforts to desegregate Little Rock's classrooms are at another turning point.

The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, but three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday from both sides. The judges are expected to decide eventually whether Arkansas still has to make the payments and whether two of the districts should remain under court supervision.

The schools, which serve about 50,000 students, have come a long way since 1957, when the governor and hundreds of protesters famously tried to stop the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High School. But thousands of white and black children still have to be bused to different neighborhoods every day under one of the nation's largest remaining court-ordered desegregation systems.

Now parents are worried about the schools' future, and some are considering enrolling their children elsewhere.

The districts argue that desegregation should be about giving parents options between good schools, not strictly counting the number of white and black students.

"Anybody can put students on a bus," said Bobby Acklin, assistant superintendent for desegregation at the North Little Rock School District. "It doesn't matter to me who's in the school, as long as we have a good program."

State lawmakers have long derided the payments, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and other officials have pushed to end the practice, too.

The battle over school desegregation persisted for decades after the civil rights movement. In 1982, the city schools sued two neighboring districts and the state for not doing enough to help with desegregation.

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/little-rock-desegregation-plans-back-court-170941600.html
 

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