Judge orders Philadelphia schools desegregated

Jet, Feb 28, 1994

A state judge has ruled that Philadelphia's school district has not done enough to desegregate its schools.

In a suit that had been in court for more than two decades, Judge Doris A. Smith, said she would appoint a team of education experts to develop a desegregation plan and impose it on the district.

William H. Brown III, a lawyer for the school district, vowed to appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court, which could review the case or let judge, Smith's decision stand.

In her decision, Judge Smith wrote: "The record amply demonstrates that the school district has not provided to Black and Hispanic students equal access to, among other things, the best qualified teachers, equal facilities, or equal access to advanced or special admissions academic course offerings."

She also wrote that the district did not provide minority students with an equal allocation of resources, and the district did not make a commitment to "eliminating racial imbalances in the schools to the extent feasible."