Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-26
New Questions on Indignation
Raised by Civil Rights Plank

a particular administrative process,
the courts will usually recognize
that they cannot interfere with the
exercise Of this discretionary judg-
ment.
Z Even if it should be decided
Os that this exercise of discretion
were subject to judicial review in
the Federal courts on the theory
that it was governmental action
which may be tested against the
equal treatment clause of the Four.
tenth Amendment, an impossible
enforcement picture is presented.
Each and every assignment Of a
pupil, each and every term, would
have to be tested separately
throughout the whole range of jul
dicial procedure. No rule could be
laid down by judicial decree apply
ing to more than one assignment
action because each assignment &C
ton would be separate exercise
of discretion. Each action would
have to be tested in court to see
if it was an arbitrary and discrimi-
natory act, or If it was based on
some valid standard which is avail
able for the assignment of pupils
such as, intelligence, scholastic
readiness, school and neighborhood
locations and conditions, psychologist
cal factors, and 'the police power"
that is, the power to take State
action for the health, safety. well
fare and morals of the community.
Under the above conditions any
State which is dead set on main
tanning educational segregation
could easily. arrange that no local
school board mixed colors in the
schools. This could be done through
such devices as State appointment
Of local school board members, State
power to remove school board MEM
bers, and granting or withholding
OF State school funds by a central
school supervisory board. Coercive
action against local school board
along these lines probably could
not be the subject of legal attack
by Negro schoolchildren because
there would not be a direct enough
connection between these actions by
the State and local assignment Of
pupils to school.
Why the 0roy Plan Opposition?
Why then is so much opposition
being shown by Virginia segrega-
tionists to the pupil assignment
feature of the Gray Plan, which
goes far along the way in this di-
rection? Why is Gov. Stanley
of Virginia working so hard for de.
feat of the Gray Plan in the Gen.
eral Assembly session opening to-
morrow and in favor of plans that
would put local school boards into
the position of either defying the
Federal courts or closing down their
schools?
Two aspects of the Gray Plan may
account for this.
First, the Gray Plan spells out
factors which the school boards
would be authorized to take into
account in assigning pipils, and
which exclude the factor OF race.
Thus it seems to constitute an in
struction to the local school boards
not to apply any color standard even
under general grant of discretion
TO the local boards.
Second, the Gray Plan seems TO
accept the idea that there would be
sufficient local option under II so
that school boards could set up in
tegrated schools where they wished
to. Hence, 1t provides for tuition
grants so that parents who objected
to sending their children TO mixed
schools could send them to private
schools.
With only minor changes, II would
appear that the Gray Plan could be
cast into the form Of giving abso-
Lutte discretion TO the local school
boards under such arrangements as
would prevent school boards from
mixing races.
This points up the fact that the
Federal courts as mechanism
for enforcing actual desegregati5n
in the schools may be very ineffec-
tive.
1t also points up the fact recogs
nized by such people as the pro-
ponents Of the Powell amendment
TO the late lamented school aid bill,
that Federal legislation would be-
necessary 10 implement the court
decisions II States we're TO be forced
against their will TO desegregate IN