School plan attracts national legal attention

By AMANDA PORTNER
Assistant News Editor

When Omaha planned to divide public school districts into three racially distinct districts, headlines across the country read that Omaha had re-segregated schools by law. This information, more appropriate in the 1950s than now, raised some eyebrows — and questions.

Michael Fenner, professor of constitutional law, received an e-mail from a woman in Baltimore that essentially said, “What the hell are you guys doing out there?”

Last year, Omaha Public Schools proposed the “One City, One School District” plan in an effort to provide equal educational opportunities for students. The bill was rejected and Legislative Bill 1024 was passed, which divided the schools into three districts, each predominated by a different race.

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark U. S. Supreme Court decision, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools. Some believe the proposed Omaha district lines, which have distinct racial boundaries under LB1024, violate this ruling.

Two lawsuits have been filed, neither by OPS, including a federal civil rights lawsuit by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The introduction to the complaint filed by the NAACP states that the district lines defy the earlier ruling in Brown and deny OPS students opportunities to attend racially and socioeconomically diverse schools.

In order to prove LB1024 unconstitutional, the attorneys opposing the law have to show two things, said Fenner. First, they must prove that the situation puts someone at a disadvantage, and that it is indeed racial discrimination. If the discrimination was proven to exist, it would then have to be proven to be intentional.

Fenner said he is not sure the latter can be proven because segregated housing characterizes Omaha and affects the drawing of districts.

“Some differences in treatment are just unintended consequences,” Fenner said.

Dr. Philip Meeks, associate professor of political science, also addressed the underlying housing problem as dictating district lines.

“As long as there is not going to be housing desegregation, then that’s, by definition, what’s going to happen,” Meeks said.

If the case would travel to the U.S. Supreme Court, Meeks said the outcome is uncertain because the court has shifted so much since Brown.

“It’s hard to say because the courts have been taken over by conservative judges appointed by the Reagan and Bush administrations,” he said. “Their views are not the ones of the generation of judges that are retired.”

No matter the outcome, Fenner said that this is an important case. Either way, the decision will set a precedent.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights came to Omaha last Friday to hear panelists discuss the issues at hand. The commission, which has existed since 1957, investigates civil rights issues and reports to the president and Congress.

The commission will evaluate their information and present a non-binding recommendation to OPS. The public may submit statements to the commission during the next 30 days.