United States v. Junction City Sch. Dist.
| Decision Date | 31 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 19-1340, No. 19-1348, No. 19-1349, No. 19-1342,19-1340 |
| Citation | 984 F.3d 608 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee v. JUNCTION CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT; R.L. Bolen, Superintendent of the Junction City School District No. 75 ; Junction City School Board, Defendants - Appellees v. Arkansas Department of Education; Arkansas State Board of Education, Intervenors - Appellants Brittany Harrison; Katelyn Williams; Lance Harrison ; Chase Williams; Chasity Klutts; Sarah McCoy ; Cole McCoy, Amici on Behalf of Appellant(s) Rosie L. Davis, Plaintiff - Appellee v. William Dale Franks, Defendant - Appellee v. Arkansas Department of Education; Arkansas State Board of Education, Intervenors - Appellants Mary Turner, Individually and as next friend of Torrance Turner, a minor; Lucy Cheatham, Individually and as next friend of Andrew Cheatham, a minor; Mary Rose, Individually and as next friend of Victor Rose ; Obie Sasser, Individually and as next friend of Frank Sasser, a minor; Barbara Dudley, Individually and as next friend of Kerri Dudley, a minor; Ida Dudley, Individually and as next friend of Tia Dudley; Rosie Blair, Individually and as next friend of Kimberly Blair, a minor; Johnny Blair, Individually and as next friend of Kimberly Blair, a minor; Robert Wise, Individually and as next friend of Valarie Wise, a minor; Mildred Thompson, Individually and as next friend of Kelona Thompson, a minor, Plaintiffs - Appellees v. Lafayette County School District, Defendant - Appellee Larry Hudson, Individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of Schools for the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Public Body Corporate; Hollis Sasser, Individually and in his official capacity as President of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Public Body Corporate; Harry Smith, Individually and in his official capacity as member of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Public Body Corporate; Leslie Nutt, Individually and in his official capacity as member of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Public Body Corporate; Steve Groves, Individually and as member of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Public Body Corporate; Carolyn Moss, Individually and as member of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Body Corporate ; Johnny Ross, Individually and as member of the Board of Education of the Lewisville School District No. 1, A Body Corporate, Defendants v. Arkansas Department of Education; Arkansas State Board of Education, Intervenors - Appellants Larry Milton, on behalf of Himself and Infants Shanna Milton and Shana Milton, by next friend Shanna Milton, by next friend Shana Milton; Willie D. Harris, Dr.; on Behalf of Himself and Infant Mark Neil, by next friend Mark Neil ; Bobbie Ray Cheeks, on Behalf of Infant Bobbie Ray, Jr., by next friend Bobbie Ray, Jr., Plaintiffs - Appellees Lee Nayles, Dr.; on Behalf of Himself and Infant Jon Nayles, by next friend Jon Nayles Plaintiff Terry Alexander, Plaintiff - Appellee v. Bill Clinton, Governor of the St. of AR; Individually, Defendant Arkansas State Board of Education; Arkansas State Board of Education, Defendants - Appellants Jeff Starling, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Earle Love, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Robert L. Newton, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; L. D. Harris, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Harry P. McDonald, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Alice L. Preston, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Elaine Scott, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Walter Turnbow, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Nancy Wood, Member, Arkansas State Board of Education; Camden, AR School District No. 35, The Board of Education of the, A Public Body Corporate; Camden, AR Housing Authority, The Board of Directors of the, A Public Body Corporate; Camden, AR, City of, A Public Body Corporate; Harmony Grove, AR School District, The Board of Education of the, A Public Body Corporate; Burton Burton, Director, Arkansas Department of Education, Defendants v. Camden, AR Fairview School District, A Public Body Corporate, Defendant - Appellee |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Anna Marks Baldwin, Attorney, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Civil Rights Division, Washington, D.C., Jonathan D. Newton, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, Washington, DC, Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer, Senior Attorney, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff - Appellee United States of America.
Whitney F. Moore, Allen P. Roberts, ALLEN P. ROBERTS, P.A., Camden, AR, for Defendants - Appellees Junction City School District, R.L. Bolen, Junction City School Board, William Dale Franks, Lafayette County School District and Camden, AR Fairview School District.
Nicholas Jacob Bronni, KaTina Hodge-Guest, Renae Ford Hudson, Rosalyn Lynette Middleton, Assistant Attorneys General, Dylan L. Jacobs, Assistant Solicitor General, ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, Little Rock, AR, for Intervenors - Appellants Arkansas Department of Education and Arkansas State Board of Education.
Brittany S. Ford, QUATTLEBAUM & GROOMS, Little Rock, AR, for Amicus Curiae Lance Harrison and Amici on Behalf of Appellants Brittany Harrison, Katelyn Williams, Chase Williams, Chasity Klutts, Sarah McCoy and Cole McCoy.
Mark Terry Burnette, MITCHELL & BLACKSTOCK, Little Rock, AR, Shawn Garrick Childs, John Winfred Walker, Sr., JOHN W. WALKER, Little Rock, AR, for Plaintiffs - Appellees Rosie L. Davis, Larry Milton, Willie D. Harris, Dr., Bobbie Ray Cheeks and Terry Alexander.
Shawn Garrick Childs, John Winfred Walker, Sr., JOHN W. WALKER, Little Rock, AR, Austin Porter, Jr., Little Rock, AR, for Plaintiffs - Appellees Mary Turner, Lucy Cheatham, Mary Rose, Obie Sasser, Barbara Dudley, Ida Dudley, Rosie Blair, Johnny Blair, Robert Wise, and Mildred Thompson.
Nicholas Jacob Bronni, KaTina Hodge-Guest, Renae Ford Hudson, Rosalyn Lynette Middleton, Assistant Attorneys General, Dylan L. Jacobs, Assistant Solicitor General, ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, Little Rock, AR, Sharon Carden Streett, Little Rock, AR, for Defendant Burton Burton.
Before ERICKSON, MELLOY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
Camden-Fairview School District, Hope School District No. 1A, Junction City School District, and Lafayette County School District ("the Districts") sought modification of existing desegregation consent decrees to allow their exemption from Arkansas's Public School Choice Act. Ark. Code. Ann. § 6–18–1906 (2017). The district court1 granted the Districts’ motions and modified the consent decrees to explicitly limit the transfer of students between school districts. The Arkansas Department of Education appealed, alleging that the modification imposed an impermissible interdistrict remedy. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Because there was a substantial change in Arkansas law after the consent decrees were enacted and the district court's modification was not an impermissible interdistrict remedy, we affirm.
A 1960's court order required Junction City School District ("Junction City") to consolidate and integrate, but compliance with the order was halting and half-hearted and the school remained effectively segregated for years. In response to the situation, the United States Department of Justice and Junction City entered a 1970 intradistrict consent decree requiring the reassignment of students on a non-racial and non-discriminatory basis. The 1970 consent decree remains in effect. Under its terms, Junction City is enjoined from maintaining segregated student assignments, homerooms, activities, or bussing.
Hope School District No. 1A ("Hope") entered an intradistrict consent decree in 1990 to "remedy any past discrimination based upon race" and "prevent any like discrimination from occurring in the future." The consent decree enjoins Hope from "engaging in any policies, practices, customs or usages of racial discrimination" in any school operations. Hope must "maintain a unitary, racially nondiscriminatory school system wherein all schools are effectively and equitably desegregated and integrated."
In 1993, Lewisville School District entered into an intradistrict consent decree that now binds Lafayette County School District ("Lafayette County"). The consent decree prohibits Lafayette County "from allowing a racially discriminatory environment to exist within the school district" and requires the district to "maintain a unitary, racially non-discriminatory school system wherein all schools are effectively and equitably desegregated and integrated." Lafayette County must also maintain a desegregation and integration policy that "promotes pupil and staff integration rather than ... passive acceptance of desegregation between students of all races."
Camden-Fairview School District ("Camden-Fairview") is bound by a 1990 interdistrict consent decree entered into by the Fairview School District ("Fairview") and the Harmony Grove School District ("Harmony Grove"). Paragraph 1(C) of the 1990 decree requires Harmony Grove to maintain an open admission policy for nonresident black students and forbids the transfer of white students from Fairview without Fairview's written permission. Both school districts must "refrain from adopting student assignment plans or programs that have an interdistrict segregative effect on either district" and "work cooperatively to create interdistrict polices and programs to end the ravages of segregation." In 2001, Camden-Fairview and Harmony Grove moved the district court to grant unitary status but stated that the provisions of paragraph 1(C) "shall remain in full force and effect to prevent future ‘white flight.’ " The court granted the districts unitary status...
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