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US Justice Department school desegregation litigation

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2026-09-28 04:41 UTC → 2026-09-28 04:41 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to end more than 50 long-standing consent decrees related to racial school desegregation. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, described the existing federal oversight orders as ‘onerous and outdated,’ arguing they no longer reflect modern classroom realities. Since the current administration took office, 57 desegregation orders have been dismissed. Approximately 80 percent of these cases are concentrated in five Southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. These legal mandates historically required balanced enrollment, equal funding, adequate facilities, and fair access to advanced coursework. While the Southern concentration is significant, data from UCLA’s Civil Rights Project suggests that some of the nation’s most segregated schools for Black students are located in the North, with New York identified as a highly segregated state. The initiative has drawn sharp criticism from the NAACP and members of the House Education and Workforce Committee. Opponents have characterized the move as a ‘stain on our democracy’ and expressed concerns that it could lead to increased resegregation or a return to Jim Crow-era conditions. The Department of Justice is currently conducting case-by-case reviews and is reviewing all remaining desegregation cases filed during the 1960s and 1970s; however, each dismissal requires approval from a federal judge.

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