Experiencing Integration in Louisville: How Parents and Students See the Gains and Challenges.

Author(s): Orfield, Gary; Frankenberg, Erica | Abstract: In this first part of research assessing the new Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) student assignment plan, researchers surveyed samples of both parents and students across the county. Three years after the Supreme Court’s 2007 PICS decision ended Louisville's former plan, these surveys tried to get a sense of the community's experiences with school integration efforts after JCPS’s new student assignment plan was implemented in 2009. Related Documents Experiencing Integration in Louisville: How Parents and Students See the Gains and Challenges Despite the difficulties encountered in designing and implementing a new integration plan in Jefferson County, KY there is a deep and continuing commitment to the goal of diverse schools in Louisville among all groups of parents and students.There are problems detailed in the survey responses, but they are not problems inherent in the goals or objectives of the plan. Instead, they are problems mostly associated with implementation of the new plan's changes in transportation. In particular, these problems are significantly related to unreliable bus service and long bus rides experienced by a minority of families.Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu