WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it would not hear an appeal of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's school desegregation case.
The decision means an official end to the landmark legal case that had established busing as a means of integrating schools in Charlotte, N.C., and across the country in the 1970s.
The high court's decision also ends a multi-million dollar legal case. The case started in 1965 and was renewed in 1997 by white parents who successfully sued to end the district's use of race in student assignment policies.
The parents argued that the school district's busing policy harmed white students while failing to help the majority of black students. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district is home to 105,000 students.
Charlotte school district officials said they are still trying to assure that all students get an equitable education.
"The courts have spoken, and they have said it is up to us as individuals and as a community to do what is right and just for all children," said Arthur Griffin Jr., chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, at a news conference Monday.
Griffin, who is black, attended segregated schools while growing up in Charlotte.
The Supreme Court, which didn't comment in turning away an appeal by black parents in Charlotte, also rejected a request by white plaintiffs to force the school district to pay their $1.5 million legal fees and expenses.
The court's decision in Swann vs. the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education means the school district is clear to continue carrying out its new student assignment plan, beginning in August, which doesn't use race in deciding where students attend school.
"Now more than ever, it is vitally important that we live up to our commitment to providing excellence and equity for every student in every school," said Griffin. "We ask every parent and every citizen in Mecklenburg County to join us as we prepare our young people for greatness."
