AN OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEMBER, 2000 AGREEMENT AND OTHER UNITARY STATUS ISSUES

History

  • 1963 Brenda K. Monroe, et al., v. Board of commissioners of the City of Jackson, Tennessee, et al. and Brenda K. Monroe, et al., v. Madison County Board of Education.
  • 1989 two cases consolidated.
  • 1990 Comprehensive consent judgment set forth the obligations of the school system to eliminate all vestiges of discrimination and to achieve unitary status. (rezoning 1992)
  • 1998-99 School Board initiated Long-Range Planning process.
  • 2000 Extensive negotiations among the parties.
  • November 28, 2000 Agreement between the Parties concluded.
  • December 2000 Agreement became an Order of the Court.

Determining Unitary Status

  • Green Factors (named for the case "Green v. New Kent County")
    • Student Assignment
    • Faculty and Staff Assignments
    • Pupil Transportation
    • Extracurricular Activities
    • Facilities
  • Quality of Education Factors (based on case “Freeman v. Pitts”)
    • Allocation of Resources
    • Student Achievement
    • Special Programs

What Did The Three Parties (School Board, NAACP, and U.S. Justice Department) Put In The Agreement To Address These Factors?

  • Student Assignment
    • The Board agreed to seek maximum practicable desegregation through voluntary means.
    • The Board was to annually evaluate and report student enrollment by race at all schools. (Reports have been submitted in July of each year)
    • The Board was to present a plan that would be reasonably calculated to bring twelve elementary schools and one high school within the applicable range. (Updated plans have focused on upgraded and additional magnet school programs funded by federal grants.)
    • The Agreement adopted a strategy of modified neighborhood zones and targeted choice.
    • Expanded magnet programs have been implemented to decrease minority isolation.

Faculty and Staff Assignments

  • Certified staff at each school and the central office was to be within plus or minus 10% of the system average. (System has complied)
  • Non-certified staff was to be within plus or minus 15% at each site. (System has complied)
  • In all other respects the board was to hire, assign, promote, etc. without regard to race, color or national origin. (System has complied)
  • A plan to recruit minority applicants was approved by the parties. (That plan has been implemented)

Pupil Transportation

  • The Agreement did not address any issues regarding pupil transportation.

Extra Curricular Activities

  • The Agreement required that each school form a committee to develop an annual plan to encourage minority student participation in extra curricular activities. (Done and plans made available to parties)

Facilities

  • The plan required 5 new schools (41.5 million dollars) (Completed)
  • The plan required renovations to 4 schools (3.5 million dollars) (Completed)
  • The plan stipulated that the remaining 6.8 million dollars of the 51.8 million approved by the County Commission serve as the annual capital outlay (buses, roofs, HVAC units, etc.) resource for the system in the years from 2001-2005. (Done)
  • The Agreement stipulated that when additional funds became available and before any other major building project that a football stadium and related fields be placed on campus at JCM. (By terms of the Agreement, this contractual obligation can be met before or after unitary status is achieved.) (Incomplete because funds have not been available)

Quality of Education Factors (Allocation of resources)

  • For monitoring purposes, data was reported annually to the NAACP and the Department of Justice. (Done)
  • There are many checks and balances in place to assure equal allocation of resources.

Quality of Education Factors (Student Achievement)

  • For monitoring purposes, data was reported annually to the NAACP and the Department of Justice. (Done)

Quality of Education Factors (Special Programs)

  • While there were no mandates in the Agreement, the Board was required to employ a consultant agreed upon by the parties who would analyze the areas of minority participation in extra curricular activities, ACE, GEMS, honors, AP, pre-referral and testing for special education, retention, and alternative school programs. (Done)
  • The Board has addressed each issue through various initiatives over the six-year period of the Agreement.