Chapter 1: The Continuing Legacy and Long Tail of Court-Ordered School Desegregation

As we approach the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), court-ordered school desegregation remains an important part of the public education landscape. While there was a period of about 15 years following the Supreme Court’s “unitary status” decisions when a significant number of school districts were released from desegregation obligations, that trend has since slowed, and we may now be in a new era for these post-Brown cases. Key recent legal developments suggest school desegregation continues to have relevance and impact for the educational experiences and opportunities of students in the districts that remain under judicial supervision.