Louisiana school board and federal government end 61 years of segregation monitoring
The settlement ends federal monitoring of Bossier Parish Schools after officials said the 61-year-old decree was costly and no longer needed.
- On Thursday, Bossier Parish Schools and the Justice Department agreed to end 61 years of federal desegregation oversight, concluding the long-standing legal monitoring near Shreveport on the first day of classes.
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the settlement, arguing these decades-old cases are 'expensive, ineffective' and infringe upon local control, following her work with the Concordia Parish School Board last month.
- Because the parents who filed the original 1964 lawsuit are deceased and their children could not be contacted, the oversight order proceeded with dismissal.
- Bossier Schools Superintendent Jason Rowland said the dismissal grants 'freedom to make our own decisions,' while the district collaborated with the Justice Department for decades on infrastructure changes.
- The Justice Department reversed course under Trump, with officials framing segregation orders as 'federal intrusion,' while Louisiana officials describe these mandates as relics from when Black students were forbidden from schools.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Louisiana District Ends 61 Years of Federal Desegregation Oversight
BOSSIER PARISH, Louisiana — A federal desegregation case dating to the civil rights era has formally ended after 61 years, returning full control of Bossier Parish schools to local officials. The Bossier Parish School Board and Justice Department agreed to dismiss the 1964 case, which began when Black students were still being excluded from white schools. Federal oversight later governed issues including school assignments, facilities and other …
Associated Press News
Louisiana school board and federal government end 61 years of segregation monitoring
A Louisiana school board and the federal government have agreed to end more than 60 years of oversight meant to end segregation.
Bossier Parish Schools 1964 desegregation case closed at request of DOJ, AG, school board
The decades-old school desegregation case that brought federal oversight to Bossier Parish Schools was closed by a federal judge this week at the request of the school board, the Justice Department and state Attorney General Liz Murrill.
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