Correspondence from Lado to Tegeler with Draft Orfield Report

    w National Office % 

A A 
Suite 1600 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE 99 Hudson Street 

AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. New York, N.Y. 10013-2897 (212) 219-1900 Fax: (212) 226-7 

September 2, 1992 

Phil Tegeler 
CCLU 
32 Grand Street 
Hartford, CT 
FAX 203 728-0287 

Dear Phil: 

Attached please find an executive summary of a report by Gary 

orfield that was apparently issued on January, 1992. This 1s the 

most recent item in the Orfield file. I hope that you find it 

helpful. 

Oorfield’s file also contained a copy of his paper, "Segregated 

Housing, Educational Inequality, and the Possibility of Urban 

Integration" (Paper for Urban Institute, Washington, D.C., January 

1988), which argues that there are "powerful interactions between 

strategies for school and housing desegregation," and the following 

bibliographic citations: 

1. Must We Bus? Segregated Schools & National Policy (Brookings: 1978) 

470 p.: 

2. Public School Desegregation in the U.S., 1968-1980 (Joint Center for 

Political Studies: 1983) 66 p.; 

3. Racial Segregation: Two Policy Views (Ford Foundation: 1979) 68 

p. (with William Taylor); and 

4. Toward a Strategy for Urban Integration: Lessons in School & Housing Policy 

from Twelve Cities: A Report to the Ford Foundation (Ford Foundation: 

1981) 87 p. 

Up until now, Orfield has not been considered an expert in this 

case. As a result, a more thorough search of the files -- Le a 

search of the education theory subject files -- might reveal 

additional information. I will try to get back to you by tomorrow 

morning if I find any papers of significance. 

Marianne Engelman Lado 

Regional Offices 

Suite 301 Suite 208 

1275 K Street, NW 315 West Ninth Stree: 

Washington, DC 20005 Los Angeles. CA 9001 

(202) 682-1300 (213) 624-24)5 

Fax: (202) 682-1312 Fax: (213) 62440075 

Contributions are The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is not part 

deductible for U.S. of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 

income tax purposes. (NAACP) although LDF was founded by the NAACP and shares its 

commitment to equal rights. LDF has had for over 30 years a separate 
Board. program. staff, otfice and budget. 

 



  

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Segrsgation nas peen.3teadlily qrowing fex.tha past Cwo decaf: 

for Hispanic students in ths U.&. during a peried wher =°3 

increased frem a lass than a ryantiath ©0 z2ore than 3 tanth -f 

Azsrican studants. segregation has also gzown slowly and stsad.ily 

im swage central cities that vers desegregated under policias tae 

left their surrounding suburbs: unchangeds- degqregation has alto 

{ncreased rapidly in sense of the saticn's older suburbs. 

In spita of thesa clear signs of rasegragaticn, hRovever, . 

tha basic pattern for blacks cress ne U.S. vas differant dur. gq 

the 1980s. During ths two tarz=s of President Reagan nt:¢ 

_ .administzaticn's conservative policies in the Education Departaen :, 

rra Justice Department, and in appointments to tle fedaral court, 

all had no cverall effact on the lavel of intsgration of souathaT 

mlack students. Whan President Reagan cane to office the blz:k 

students in the South vers supstantlially zara intagrated than those 

{n the rest of the courtry. Eis administration vorked:for a pell:y 

cf dismantling the zandatery desegregation requisrv@ants it tie 

.segqian, It brought no nev casas ser mandatory desegregation, 3 

for the 1588-89 school year, bhovever, shove that, Sax <¢(3..a 

disappearing, the level of dssegreqatica of southern BHlac.:3 

acweally incseased during the 1980-1583 period. 

1s data dcas net reflact tka impact of last year's Supres.? 

caurt dacision in the SXlaboma CILY case oF {in the forthceaing hdva 

cour: dacisicn in Plssa v. ZIAALAD, 8 case from a larga Atlant. 

susurkan dlatrict. Tts aoveZent ia the fadaral cours tow: 4 

raturning desegregation zegponaibilities ta local school boards 2¢ 7 

sh =sasurabla effects in rhe 1590 or 1592 federal data. 

Although the 1980s rrought large political changes, i% Was a 

garicd cf relatively fav charges lo desegregation ordars and plac: . 

T= was also a pericd in which a zodest increase in the rnaticsa’sn 

~agidential desegrsgaticn and a large incsease in 

a" ack and Xispanic suburbanizatloz produced changes in schools t=: 

helped offzat the diministed city desegregation raflecting =- 

comeinuing deoclize of white regidants in ceatzal city Sah | 

SYstams. 

Twenty years of data on desegregation of the seventeen aatar 

woiah ixposad mandatory sagTagation by stata laws until 1554 skoi-t 

nat "Rg school dagegregation accozplishmants of 

5508 early L97Cs wer= 13T ~ragila and tTansient. They were 64° 

~=d far=-zeacti=zg and tay 1agted t=rough two decades gf I/msinnly 

solisisal attacks. Fo.-$ Sbows 2-at not ezly dld desegregat-t 

-a=gin in piace 13 08S GL Toe Coury hue =mat public suppers °° 

N - AY os By a (rT ie { &= d = Fa 

saLrz., a» troarnse.sy -——eaPulLlar CL.
 8 off — 3g a = Segal _— swe 62" .. 

 



   
racial change azd vesagreqation. clearly, significant parts Phe 

suburbia hava commen interest vith camtrsl city school systans nn 

seeking policies for stable dasegregaticn. 

This study vas handicapped by serious problens with the duta 

collection and processing by "ha Office for Civil Rights In 

*na T.5. Dapart=ent of Tdueation. this RL 

fron sore than 40.009 0:8. schools _pere_than years age,—a- 

sa1]l 1588, it vas only aade available in Dacsabax. This vas ta 

1at3aC Telcase of this information asd Cn Prog I of tik 

survey and processing of -data ware. sexicusly  flaved. 71a 

statistical wvaights used to! project stats-vids student data Pad 

sarisus errors in a nuadar of statss, making ig necassary :° 

eliminata them from reports of stata. level levels of segregeti a 

and changes in segregation. Ne found serious, “unoorTected daa 

entry arrnrs., The Office ror civil Rights ia net collecting scle 

cf the data-that is-essential for gchoel officials and civil righ:s 

agencies and courts; as givil rights policy {rneraasingly shizf™a 

fren Washington to - the 'stats- and lecal 1.7als. The dslays Rana 

becoza 0 serious tat trey diminish the usefulness of informaticn ill 

collected at such great cost to scheol districts. | 

™is report ‘shevs that school desegregation policies ha'= 

lasting impacts and that: they-desarve sericus consideration, 

There is an need for Hispanic leaders and natianal pedicy 

1 makars to 6 *ne consaquances of incTeasingly extrens pg 

segregation for accass io education, college, and paingtread 

exployment in the U.S: It recommends the following policy changes : 

1) enactzent of a nev fedaral am, 2odeled 

en the Emergemey School Aid Act, to 

provids financial suppers for the costs 

cf daseqrequticon 
| 

2) davelopaeat of stata beard of education 

ation policies and asgistanca 

for districts considering changed hd 

thelr progrAlS 

3) su r= by national educational organizations 

pee 2eundations for digezicts studying ts 

conser eRC88 °F prepesed changes in eg iw 

desec ation plans 

4) support by f 

ni ly s rod 8cRoOlS 

sii Bes Sk gchools wita nigbhar 

gekievazent levels 

space in cther 3 

smair matropocl 

and availabla 

cnocl disTTicTs 

jean areas. 

 



  

3) rhea tise has ccme for large scale research 

and the cTeation of & majsr commission 

to study tha causes, CORSAqUANcCEs, and 

cexas, which educate a substantial 
maiority of ths nation's Eispanic studants 

need gtats-wids studies as vall 

craaticn of pew suburban centers of segTegaticyl 

and racial apd economic change. Stats 

and federal officials and organizacicns of 

suburban schosl districts and gevernxants 

need to begin serious considerstion of 

policies to support stable suburban integratien, 

avoiding replication of the txagic higtaxy of 

centzal city ghetto expansicn. 

7) there is a asad for 8 38jor SpE of fedaral 

racial statistics. A ocmprahens.ve survey of 

all T.8. school districts has not been carrie 

netyepclitan arsa data, is wall as distzice 

level informatica. Cata should be prepared §:r 

lic rolaase Vithin cme year of tha dats 

af eollectisn and adaquats InaqQurcas should 

be provided to cor=sct sariocus 4ata errors. 

A nev baseline survey of rll T.S. schools 

ghculd be conducted (=n 1992.