A Moment of Truth

A generation after white flight, districts continue to face awkward discussions and painful choices in an attempt to achieve diversity. The American School Board Journal addesses this issue in it's April issue.

A 37-year veteran of the Senate, Chambers has views that could hold sway in the final outcome of this debate. And, unlike many lawmakers, he’s doesn’t sugarcoat his opinions. For instance, he dismisses outright the arguments of the NAACP and other civil rights groups that condemn LB 1024 as segregationist. He says he’s not interested in talk of segregation -- or integration.

"I’m interested in quality education,” he says.

That message strikes a chord with more people than education policymakers sometimes like to admit. Despite polls showing strong support for school diversity efforts, the decisions parents make about where to enroll their children suggest otherwise. Many white and affluent minority families aren’t interested in integration, Orfield says. Their interest is simply in the best educational opportunities for their children. That opinion also holds sway in minority communities, where black parents remember that their peers were usually the ones bused across town in the name of integration. Today’s rallying cry is neighborhood schools.

Read more HERE.