Florida Pupil Assignment Law Once More in Federal Court

Press Release
February 1, 1960

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Press Releases, Loose Pages. Florida Pupil Assignment Law Once More in Federal Court, 1960. 3e25e1b1-bc92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/36a361ae-5774-4ba5-be8b-596acc70e610/florida-pupil-assignment-law-once-more-in-federal-court. Accessed November 07, 2025.

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    PRESS RELEASE® @ 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE + NEW YORK 19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397 

DR, ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS eS THURGOOD MARSHALL 
President Director-Counsel 

FLORIDA PUPIL ASSIGNMENT LAW 
ONCE MORE IN FEDERAL COURT 

February 1, 1960 

PENSACOLA, FLA., Feb. 1.--The Florida Pupil Assignment Law came 

under legal attack here today with the filing of a complaint in the 

federal district court by attorneys for the NAACP Legal Defense and 

Educational Fund, Inc. 

The complaint was filed on behalf of Negro children in Escambia 

County, Fla. and against the Board of Public Instruction of the County 

and its school officials. It seeks a court order prohibiting the 

school authorities from operating and maintaining a dual system of 

public education. 

The focal point of the attack in the complaint is the Florida 

Pupil Assignment Law which permits school authorities to assign public 

school pupils on the basis of "sociological, psychological, ethical and 

cultural background and social scientific factors." 

The law also gives the school officials authority to ask public 

school pupils seeking reassignment to give in detail specific reasons 

for the request and why they feel they would make a "normal adjustment" 

to the change in environment from one racial school system to the 

other. 

The Pupil Assignment Law, however, has been applied only to the 

assignment and reassignment of Negro students. 

In the complaint filed today, Legal Defense attorneys also charge 

the Escambia County school officials with maintaining two school zone 

lines, one for Negroes and the other for whites. The "colored school 

system" is staffed entirely by Negroes, the attorneys argue, and the 

"white" schools solely by whites. 

Attorneys for the Negro pupils are Thurgood Marshall and Constance 

Baker Motley of New York, and Charles F. Wilson of Pensacola, Fla. 

Fone

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Florida Pupil Assignment Law Once More in Federal Court

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