Delores Clark v. The Board of Education of the Little Rock School District

We are asked for the eighth time to review a district court decree purporting to establish a unitary school system in Little Rock, Arkansas. 1 This time the principal question is whether the plan approved by the district court for desegregating elementary grades 1 through 5 meets constitutional standards. 2 We find the plan satisfactory as to grades 4 and 5, unsatisfactory in part as to grades 1 through 3.

I

DESEGREGATION OF THE ELEMENTARY GRADES

The plan approved by the district court would:

1) Desegregate grades 4 and 5 by zoning, clustering, and pairing. In substance, students living in the…