Source: https://es.scribd.com/document/371455365/Gardendale-Ruling
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 02:52:53+00:00

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aff’d en banc. ever undoing past discrimination or of coming close to the goal of equal educational opportunities”). of Educ.2d 385 (5th Cir. 396 U. Spurred by the mandate to “terminate dual school systems at once. Swann v. services. 372 F.2d 836. 380 F. Holmes Cty. 1967)... of Educ.. 878 (5th Cir.) (explaining that school-board plans had “little prospect of . 13 (1971) (discussing the “[d]eliberate resistance of some to the [Supreme] Court’s mandates”). . J. Bd. Homewood. 1. 20 (1969).S. the district court entered a comprehensive desegregation order. our predecessor circuit consolidated this case with twelve other desegregation cases and directed the district courts to require the immediate merger of “faculties and staff. 419 F.. e. Dist. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd.” Singleton v.2d 1211.” Alexander v. . transportation. 19. 402 U. After four predominantly white cities—Pleasant Grove. Jackson Mun. athletics and other extracurricular activities” as well as the merger of “student bodies. 1217 (5th Cir. Bd... 1966) (Wisdom. Separate Sch.S.g. In 1970. and Midfield—withdrew from the Jefferson County school system 4 . see also. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 4 of 61 begin desegregating its schools in the 1965–66 academic year. e. And the United States intervened as a plaintiff. of Educ. Vestavia Hills. Jefferson Cty. See. black children in Jefferson County had yet to realize the full promise of Brown I. Dilatory tactics and half-hearted efforts slowed the pace of desegregation. 1969) (en banc).g. By 1969. United States v.
The order included a provision that permits some students to transfer from schools in which their race is in the majority to schools in which their race is in the minority. recognize their creation. The 1971 order established school attendance zones. It declared that “where the formulation of splinter school districts. . and the transfer of students between attendance zones. (Stout I). The order also established several requirements for municipal systems 5 . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 5 of 61 and formed municipal school districts. have the effect of thwarting the implementation of a unitary school system. the district court issued the desegregation order that still governs the operations of the Jefferson County school system.” Stout v. of Educ. 404 (5th Cir. In 1971. Id. albeit validly created under state law. And it provided that Jefferson County must pay municipal school systems that educate students from unincorporated areas of the County the ad valorem school taxes collected from those areas. the district court may not . 448 F. and comprehensive policies for student assignments. (footnote and citation omitted).2d 403. Jefferson Cty. Bd. our predecessor circuit directed the district court to “require the school board forthwith to implement a student assignment plan” that “encompasses the entire Jefferson County School District as it stood at the time of the original filing of this desegregation suit. . And it directed the district court to “implement fully” its desegregation order. including the Gardendale attendance zone. school construction.” Id. 1971) (footnote omitted).
” 407 U. Jefferson Cty. our predecessor circuit made clear that “the proponents of the new district must bear a heavy burden to show the lack of deleterious effects on desegregation. And in Ross v. The 6 . the Supreme Court ruled in Wright v. our predecessor circuit affirmed an order that the Jefferson County Board “take up the operation of the Pleasant Grove district schools. The Court explained that the inquiry into whether a splinter district should be permitted to secede depends on its effect. Council of the City of Emporia that “a new school district may not be created where its effect would be to impede the process of dismantling a dual system. 470 (1972).2d 712. of Educ. 451. 1214 (5th Cir. 714 (5th Cir. 1972).” 583 F. at 462. including a requirement that a municipal system “make sufficient space available for black students from the county system” so that black student enrollment in a municipal system equals at least one-third of the white student enrollment in the new system. Only if they satisfy that “heavy burden” may a district court permit secession. 466 F.2d 1213. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 6 of 61 to secede. even if the splinter district has a benign motive: “The existence of a permissible purpose cannot sustain an action that has an impermissible effect. Bd.” Stout v. In 1972.S. 1978). (Stout II). Houston Independent School District (Ross II).” Id. When the Pleasant Grove Board of Education refused to comply with the 1971 order and “accept its role” in the desegregation of the Jefferson County school system. Id.
Predominantly white municipalities continued to secede and slowly. 801 (5th Cir. Since the dissolution of the Pleasant Grove school system.2d 800. Even so. In 1976. (Stout III).” Id. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 7 of 61 Fifth Circuit stressed that “[s]overeignty should be returned” to the Pleasant Grove Board only after it “demonstrates to the district court’s satisfaction by clear and convincing evidence that it is able and intends to comply with the court’s orders concerning its role in the desegregation of the Jefferson County School District. at 803. our predecessor circuit acknowledged that Jefferson County had made “great progress” toward desegregation. of Educ. at 1215. but the circuit court cautioned that federal supervision was still required. 537 F. The circuit court affirmed a refusal to require busing between two predominantly white and black school zones as dangerous and infeasible. To this day.” Id. Bd. strengthening the curriculum to magnet levels in [two] facilities. Jefferson Cty.” Id. 1976). the Pleasant Grove Board has never satisfied that burden. And it stated that “the former dual school system has been effectively dismantled and a unitary system substituted. Stout v. three other 7 . . but significantly.” and it directed that the district court consider “broadening and making more attractive its existing majority-to-minority transfer procedures and . at 802. . Id. it determined that the school system still “must continue under the scrutiny and surveillance of the district court. change the demographic makeup of the Jefferson County schools.
The current population of the City has a similar demographic makeup. And the secession of Trussville and Leeds alone led to about a 3 percentage point decrease in the white population and a 3 percentage point increase in the black population in the Jefferson County school system. In 2003. In 2000. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 8 of 61 predominantly white municipalities—Hoover. the student population of the school system was approximately 43 percent white and 47 percent black. But by 2015. But by 2010. B. the student population in Gardendale was 92 percent white and 8 percent black. As of 2010. the City of Vestavia Hills annexed the Cahaba Heights community. the student population in the Jefferson County school system was about 75 percent white and 23 percent black. And some municipalities later annexed predominantly white communities in the County. only one of the four public 8 . and Leeds—seceded from the Jefferson County school system. more than 88 percent of the population was white and less than 9 percent was black. the population of which was about 95 percent white as of 2010. for example. In 1996. The Evolution of the Gardendale Secession Movement The Gardendale secession movement started when the schools in that City were becoming racially diverse while the population of the City remained overwhelmingly white. The cumulative impact of these municipal secessions and suburban growth has been dramatic. Trussville.
Bragg Middle was about 77 percent white and 21 percent black. and Gardendale High was about 75 percent white and 23 percent black. the schools continued to become more racially diverse in even starker contrast with the demographics of the City. Snow Rogers Elementary was about 94 percent white and 4 percent black. Bragg Middle was about 67 percent white and 29 percent black. The racial diversity of the schools in Gardendale stems from the attendance of students who reside outside its municipal limits. Students from the unincorporated and predominantly white community of Mount Olive as well as 9 . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 9 of 61 schools in Gardendale. and Gardendale High School— were less than 80 percent white and 20 or more percent black. Bragg Middle School. In 2010. came close to mirroring the racial demographics of the City. And in later years. And Gardendale High was about 71 percent white and 27 percent black. Gardendale Elementary was about 75 percent white and 20 percent black. Students from the predominantly black community of North Smithfield/Greenleaf Heights constitute nearly 30 percent of the black student population at Bragg Middle and more than 25 percent of the black student population at Gardendale High. The other three schools in Gardendale— Gardendale Elementary. Snow Rogers Elementary had a student population that was about 85 percent white and 5 percent black during the 2015–16 academic year. Gardendale Elementary was about 71 percent white and 24 percent black. Snow Rogers Elementary School.
launched a campaign to create a municipal school system for Gardendale. the district court also amended the 1971 order to permit some black students from less successful schools to transfer to Snow Rogers Elementary and Bragg Middle. four individuals.C.C. §§ 6301 et seq.. And Bagwell and Salters served on an advisory board. Chris Lucas. 20 U. anywhere from 12 to 22 black students attended Gardendale High annually as transfer students. After the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Because of capacity issues. David Salters. from 2009 to 2016.S. 10 . required public school boards to permit students attending schools “identified for school improvement” to transfer to schools not so identified.S. the district court permitted only 12 students to transfer to Bragg Middle for each of the relevant years. Gardendale schools are racially diverse institutions in an otherwise white enclave in large part because zoning and desegregation transfer opportunities permit other Jefferson County students to attend the schools. Dozens of black students have taken advantage of the majority-to-minority transfer provision in the 1971 order to attend schools in Gardendale. § 6316 (repealed 2015). Against this backdrop. Segroves later became the president of the Gardendale Board. Tim Bagwell. 20 U. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 10 of 61 students from the more integrated Town of Brookside and City of Graysville also attend the middle and high schools in Gardendale. Lucas became a member of the Board. and Chris Segroves. For example. In sum.
Salters explained in one post that the population of the predominantly white City of Gardendale looked different from the more diverse student population at the Gardendale schools: “A look around at our community sporting events. our churches are great snapshots of our community.” The page was publicly accessible.” The secession leaders argued that a separate school system would give the residents of Gardendale greater control over their children’s education.” But the secession leaders never met with representatives of the Jefferson County Board to discuss their grievances. delete posts. the secession leaders expressed concern about the changing demographics of the Gardendale schools. A look into our schools. and permit Gardendale “to control [its] own revenue stream. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 11 of 61 As part of their campaign. “better control over the geographic composition of the student body [and] protection against the actions of other jurisdictions that might not be in our best interests. and they struggled to identify specific deficiencies in the County schools. improve the academic quality of the schools. Segroves testified that he “had no 11 . and you’ll see something totally different. Bagwell.” Bagwell alluded to those demographic differences when he listed among the benefits of a municipal system. From the start. but the secession leaders served as page administrators with the ability to approve new members. and change the privacy settings. Lucas. and Salters created and maintained a Facebook page titled “Gardendale City Schools.
” When asked to identify “specific changes that [he] would make if [Gardendale] were allowed to separate. serving on the [Gardendale] [B]oard.” One online participant put it more bluntly: “[D]id you know we are sending school buses to Center point [sic] and busing kids to OUR schools in Gardendale.” particularly students from the predominantly black community of North Smithfield. then go home” without “contribut[ing] financially.” He stated that he would “welcome those students.” “They consume the resources of our schools. as well as from Smithville!” That 12 .” And Bagwell stated that “at least historically in many areas. for allegedly draining resources from the Gardendale schools.” The secession leaders and others frequently blamed “non-residents. general improvements of education which are reflected in the size of the school system. . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 12 of 61 involvement in the schools in Jefferson County prior to . historically they tend to perform better academically than larger systems. “Just overall improvements. our teachers and our resident students. a smaller system with individual local control. . In response to a suggestion that racial concerns were animating the movement. Salters stated in a Facebook post that “non-resident students are increasing at a [sic] alarming rate in our schools.” but only if they “move to Gardendale or pay a transfer fee. including Alabama.” He added that a municipal school system “seems to be a component for a vital community with higher-than-average growth and desirability.” Salters replied.
about 33 percent of Center Point was white and 63 percent was black. Center Point was over 99 percent white. at a public meeting. “It likely will not turn out well for Gardendale if we don’t do this.” The participant said. In 1970. not regress. And an online participant asked. secession leaders warned residents that if they failed to act.” She added. “This is about a community wanting to progress. Gardendale would follow a similar trajectory. Salters stated.” 13 . maybe even Pinson or Huffman and think about how quickly an area’s demographics change. When comparing Gardendale to Center Point.” Secession supporters frequently derided the City of Center Point. a predominantly black community that used to be a predominantly white community and has no municipal school system. “[W]ould you like to live in Center Point or Adamsville?” She “encourage[d] [another online participant] to ride around those areas. “We are busting at the seams and can’t continue on this path!” Salters expressed similar concerns: “We are using buses to transport non-residents into our schools (without additional funding) from as far away as Center Point (there’s your redistribution of wealth). For example. We don’t want to become what” Center Point has become. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 13 of 61 participant stated that some of the transfer students “have been bused here for years due to the desegregation from decades ago and that should have already been changed because we have a very diverse population now in our area. but by 2010.
The school system is for residents of Gardendale (whatever those boundaries end up being and whatever that racial make-up is). though practical obstacles related to the local fire district ultimately thwarted their intended plans. 2) Would Gardendale be required to bring in minorities from outside of the municipal boundaries to achieve some sort of quota? No. Eventually. . and [they] got their backing because any kind of official actions would obviously have to occur through the city. the secession leaders and others regularly discussed the status of Mount Olive. . but that Gardendale might annex Mount Olive: 1) Will kids in North Gardendale (who may currently be zoned for county schools in Morris) be zoned for a city school system? Yes. All kids within the municipal boundaries of Gardendale would go to schools within the new system. . In a post on Facebook.. the secession leaders touted the predominantly white community of Mount Olive as a desirable area to be included in the new school system. Lucas contrasted the intended treatment of Mount Olive with that of “minorities. and then the city commission.” Lucas explained that “[a]t the end of the day. he explained that minorities not residing in Gardendale would not be students in the new system. the secession leaders “began having conversations with the mayor . . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 14 of 61 In contrast with their comments about Center Point. Indeed. [city officials have] got 14 .” In response to a question about the impact of “[f]ederal desegregation laws” on the proposed secession. The idea is that it might include an expansion to include an annexation of certain parts of Mount Olive. and the council .
and the parties agreed that the high school would serve as a regional educational facility with a career technical program to foster voluntary desegregation by encouraging high-school students to enroll in programs outside of their zoned schools. 15 . Harvey concluded that the secession was possible based on estimates that included students from predominantly white Mount Olive but did not include students from predominantly black North Smithfield. According to the Jefferson County superintendent. which though located in the City of Gardendale was financed and constructed by Jefferson County. he and Salters “put the mayor and the council in a head lock until they came to their own conclusions that the school system had to happen. but it really became a ground swell of a movement and that was how the whole idea was born. Warren Pouncey. Ira Harvey to study the feasibility of a Gardendale school system. Harvey’s conclusion stemmed. the high school currently serves students who reside in about five different high school zones.” According to Lucas. Dr.” In October 2012. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 15 of 61 to drive the official efforts. The siting of the school was proposed by the Jefferson County Board to the plaintiffs and the United States. the Gardendale City Council commissioned Dr. from his determination that the municipal school system would acquire debt-free the $51 million Gardendale high-school facility. in large part.
“Which path will Gardendale choose?” It then listed several well-integrated or predominantly black cities that had not formed municipal systems followed by a list of predominantly white cities that had. the secession leaders formed a nonprofit entity called Future of Our Community Utilizing Schools (FOCUS) Gardendale. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 16 of 61 While Harvey was performing the feasibility study. FOCUS Gardendale circulated a flyer that depicted a white elementary-school student and asked.” The campaign by the secession leaders succeeded. FOCUS Gardendale existed to raise funds and to lobby for higher property taxes to support the proposed school system. In September 2013. and the citizens of Gardendale 16 . The flyer described the predominantly white communities as “some of the best places to live in the country. the City Council approved a five-mill ad valorem tax.
The Gardendale Board immediately hired Dr. § 14-4. He stated that about the same 17 . the five members selected were all white. Code § 16-11-2(b). The ordinance also created a Board of Education and vested it with the “power. Ala. That same year. among other things. worked with a black teacher. the Council adopted an ordinance that “established a public school system for the City of Gardendale. to be known as the Gardendale City School System.. could include only Gardendale residents. under state law. authority and dut[y]” to. he has never hired a black teacher. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 17 of 61 later voted on a referendum to impose an additional five-mill tax to fund the school system. In 2014. Although the Council received applications from black residents of Gardendale. “maintain and do all things necessary and proper for the management of the Gardendale City School System.” Id. the Council appointed the first members of the Gardendale Board. Code § 14-1 (2014). Patrick Martin to serve as superintendent.” Gardendale. When he sent the Gardendale Board an email update to help it “understand the lens through which the Plaintiff Parties may view [the] [s]eparation. See Ala. Martin had no prior experience operating under a desegregation order. Alabama. which.” he quoted a book he was reading that compared the income distribution of black people in 1970 and today. none of the school districts where he has previously worked was more than 15 percent black. or hired a black administrator. and over his 17-year career as an administrator and educator.
Like the earlier one. On a redline version of the plan. Segroves. it submitted a plan to the district court in December 2015 in support of its motion to secede. would be phased out of the Gardendale municipal system over a period of 13 years. Superintendent Martin’s plan permitted racial desegregation transfer students to attend the Gardendale schools. and a stipulation that the Gardendale Board would not provide transportation to transfer students. according to the book. An early plan provided that all of the non-resident students who currently attend the four schools in Gardendale. “[m]uch of the progress that was the source of such optimism a generation ago has been lost in the current generation. “Legal team to review and confirm its applicability/appropriateness for GBOE [Gardendale Board of Education]” next to the racial desegregation provision. questioned the need for racial desegregation transfers. Although the Gardendale Board never formally approved any plan. as president of the Gardendale Board. annual reapplications for transfer. Afterward. he wrote.” Superintendent Martin drafted a secession plan in the fall of 2014. tuition payments by means other than personal check. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 18 of 61 percentage of black people live in poverty today and that. the plan submitted to the district court proposed redrawing the school attendance lines at the municipal boundaries of Gardendale 18 . but it conditioned transfer opportunities on space availability. including students from North Smithfield and other surrounding areas.
over the course of a 13-year transition period.” But the Gardendale Board did not consult with the parents of North Smithfield students before adding this provision. The plan provided that North Smithfield students in kindergarten through twelfth grade “shall attend the Gardendale Schools on the same basis as Gardendale Students. many of the non- resident students from the Gardendale schools.” he also testified that the change was motivated by a desire to “honor the [desegregation] order. But the plan eliminated entirely the racial desegregation transfer provision. And although Martin testified that he added the provision. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 19 of 61 and eliminating. provided that the County Board or the tax collector for Jefferson County shall pay to the City Board the ad valorem school taxes collected from the North Smithfield Manor and Greenleaf Heights communities. because of “the importance of educational continuity. Superintendent Martin declined an invitation to attend North Smithfield Community Civic League meetings to discuss the proposed secession. Bagwell defended on 19 . In fact. The Gardendale Board vaguely alleged in its motion to secede that “North Smithfield Manor and Greenleaf Heights students will be able to attend Gardendale Schools for the indefinite future.” The plan provided no transition period for these students.” Some supporters of secession expressed their displeasure at the prospect of allowing any non-residents to attend the municipal schools. in part.
2015. pill” as something that weighed against the “ultimate . The district court later enjoined the state lawsuit. and we would be within reason to feel that way. separation. the Gardendale Board filed a motion to operate a municipal school system and attached the 2015 proposed secession plan. . tactical decision aimed at addressing a recognized road block to breaking away. . 20 . The extent to which fair has anything to do with it depends on how you weigh your priorities in deciding whether it is too bitter a pill to swallow or if the ultimate treatment goal.e. C. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 20 of 61 Facebook permitting the attendance of North Smithfield students as “a specific.” the Gardendale Board also filed a complaint in state court requesting that the state court direct the Jefferson County Board to relinquish control of the Gardendale schools. .” And he later described that “bitter . goal” of secession: You and I may not think that it is particularly fair to accept an out-of- district area not subject to our control or taxation as a price to pay to gain approval for separation. i. and two parents from Mount Olive moved for limited intervention to oppose the secession. is worth it. The Proceedings in the District Court On March 13. On December 11. And the City of Graysville. Black children who currently attend Jefferson County schools were substituted as plaintiffs in the action and opposed the secession. . Although counsel for the Gardendale Board represented that he understood that “every aspect of [the] operation [of the proposed school system] would have to be submitted to the [district] [c]ourt for review. the Gardendale Board moved to intervene in this action. 2015. technical. the Town of Brookside.
Counsel for Gardendale stated. First. . it found that “Gardendale ha[d] not established that its separation will not impede Jefferson County’s effort to obtain a court order dissolving the . in fact.” Second. desegregation 21 . After the site visit.” And about a year later. . Superintendent Martin joined representatives of the Department of Justice and others for a tour of the schools in the Jefferson County system. we need to do everything to make sure we are not lumped into that process. . . it found that the Gardendale Board violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because “race was a motivating factor in Gardendale’s decision to separate from the Jefferson County public school system. achieved full unitary status for the [district] [c]ourt to be able to rule on [the] motion to be allowed to separate.” When the district court ruled on the motion by the Gardendale Board to operate a municipal school system. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 21 of 61 The Gardendale Board sought immediate review of its motion to secede even though the district court was in the process of determining whether judicial supervision of Jefferson County continued to be necessary. the district court made two findings of fact. Martin opined in a “Weekly Board Update” to members of the Gardendale Board that “if Jefferson County really does aim to gain Unitary Status there is going to be an excessive amount of work to be done across the entirety of the county and . “[I]t is [not] necessary for the [district] [c]ourt to decide whether or not the county has.
Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 22 of 61 order. which created a Gardendale attendance zone that includes North Smithfield and provides for desegregation transfer opportunities. The district court also explained that although at least one Facebook comment ostensibly blamed the No Child Left Behind Act for capacity and other issues at the Gardendale schools. So the children “who look ‘totally different’ from the children who attend churches in Gardendale or play on ball 22 . most of the transfer students attending the Gardendale schools were desegregation transfer students. The district court found that concerns about the “geographic composition” of the student bodies in the Gardendale schools could be traced to the 1971 desegregation order.” But the district court then sua sponte invoked its equitable authority to craft a new secession plan based on “a number of practical considerations. The district court found that the secession leaders preferred that the Gardendale schools serve only the predominantly white students that reside in Gardendale and Mount Olive. like its neighbor Center Point. may become a predominantly black city. It found that “some Gardendale citizens are concerned because the racial demographics in Gardendale are shifting.” The district court found that they “prefer a predominantly white city” and support a municipal school system because it would allow them to eliminate non-resident black students from the Gardendale schools. and they worry that Gardendale.” The district court found that the supporters of secession from the outset acted with a racially discriminatory purpose.
” they had to “translate their grassroots effort into official action. . and transfer students from areas like Center Point who attend Gardendale schools pursuant to the . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 23 of 61 fields there are students from the North Smithfield community . . desegregation order. . if any.” The plan attached to the motion to secede would have eliminated all racial desegregation transfer students. Earlier drafts conditioned transfer opportunities on space availability.” Different versions of the secession plan imposed conditions that the district court “reasonably infer[red]” were “designed to minimize or eliminate racial desegregation transfers.” The district court found that “[t]his official action—or lack thereof—dovetails with the separation organizers’ expressed interest in eliminating 23 . which would effectively eliminate Gardendale Elementary and Bragg Middle as potential transferee schools. And the last plan submitted to the district court provided that transfer opportunities would be provided “subject to space availability” and that transportation would not be provided “unless required by federal courts.” The district court found that the secession leaders recognized that if they wanted to “maintain the geographic integrity of the Gardendale zone. of his draft transfer policies the Gardendale Board ultimately would be willing to implement. .” The district court explained that none of these plans had been approved by the Gardendale Board and that Superintendent Martin was “unable to say which.
tactical decision aimed at addressing a recognized road block to breaking away” confirmed the motivation behind that decision. students who are bussed into Gardendale from other areas of Jefferson County. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 24 of 61 from the [Gardendale] schools . . technical. the Gardendale Board sought to exclude them entirely in an early draft of the secession plan. .” The district court found that the treatment of the North Smithfield students in the various draft plans suggested that the Gardendale Board would permit those students to attend Gardendale schools only if required by a federal-court order.” And comments referring to the change in the December 2015 plan as a “specific. The district court also found that the Gardendale Board had not voted on a plan because it “ha[d] been waiting to see whether its attorneys could persuade the [district] [c]ourt that the 1971 desegregation order does not govern Gardendale’s separation.” If the district court ruled that the order no longer governs municipal secessions. The Gardendale Board “recalculated after it realized that the elimination of the North Smithfield students might jeopardize the separation effort. the Gardendale Board would condition the attendance of North Smithfield students on the remittance of ad valorem tax dollars from Jefferson 24 . Even though North Smithfield students have attended the Gardendale schools since 1971. then the Gardendale Board would not need to ensure any racial diversity in its schools. And even if the district court ruled that the order still governs secessions.
not the status of its desegregation efforts.” In other words.” The district court found that “the Gardendale Board is trying to evade the [district] [c]ourt’s desegregation order because some citizens in Gardendale want to eliminate from Gardendale schools the black students whom Jefferson County transports to schools in Gardendale. even though the secession leaders originally planned to permit students from Mount Olive. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 25 of 61 County because the desegregation order provides the “mechanism that makes those tax dollars flow to Gardendale. binding commitment to the children in North Smithfield.” So if the desegregation order were dissolved in the future. And it rejected the argument that “desegregation orders are outmoded” because “age alone does not render the  order unenforceable. the North Smithfield students “would have no assurance that [the Gardendale Board] would allow them to continue to attend Gardendale schools. It explained that Stout III used the term “unitary” to describe student assignments in Jefferson County.” The district court rejected the argument of the Gardendale Board that our predecessor circuit ruled that Jefferson County had achieved unitary status in Stout III. the Gardendale Board refused to “ma[k]e a meaningful.” It also explained that it “reasonably infer[red] from Gardendale’s litigation strategy and from the Superintendent’s statement that Jefferson County has to do ‘an excessive amount 25 . to attend the Gardendale schools. a predominantly white community.
” The district court found that a new school system would likely have a higher percentage of white students than the statistics offered by the Gardendale Board suggest because predominantly white communities likely would be annexed by Gardendale. the overall student population in the 26 .” But it found that the transition period “makes the ultimate racial composition of the Gardendale district difficult to forecast because so much may change over 13 years. it considered the “post-separation racial demographics. the municipal system will be more desegregated at the conclusion of the [transition] period” because the Gardendale Board will “phase out more white students than black students. First.” It acknowledged that “[b]y Gardendale’s numbers. it ruled that the “one-third requirement” that prompted the inclusion of North Smithfield in the secession plan was unenforceable under current law because it involved an unlawful racial quota.” It found that if Gardendale seceded and the new school system included only Gardendale students. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 26 of 61 of work’ to fulfill the obligations of the desegregation order that Gardendale does not genuinely believe that Jefferson County currently is eligible for a release from federal supervision. The district court also acknowledged that the impact on the Jefferson County school system “may seem insignificant at first blush. The district court found that the secession of Gardendale would impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board in three ways.” But although the district court determined that the 1971 order was still in effect.
The district court stressed that middle and high school students. It explained that the Jefferson County Board invested in the magnet program in the high school and located it in Gardendale to encourage voluntary desegregation and satisfy its obligations under the 1971 order. and it found that its loss would cause the Jefferson County Board to have fewer funds to invest in other facilities and programming. and economic characteristics of the Jefferson County district. If the Jefferson County Board were to forfeit the high school facility. And it found that the “[t]he direct impact of the separation” would be to force displaced students to attend more segregated schools. would be forced to attend schools that are between 85 percent and 99 percent white or black. But it underscored the “cumulative impact of municipal separations and annexations on Jefferson County’s ability to fulfill its obligations under the desegregation order. Second.” It found that the “series of municipal separations in Jefferson County has repeatedly shifted the geographic.5 percent more black. the Jefferson County student population would become 1. it would lose the 27 . in particular. the district court underscored the importance of Gardendale High to the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. And if North Smithfield students were zoned for the Gardendale schools. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 27 of 61 Jefferson County school system would become 1. demographic. making it difficult” for the Jefferson County Board to comply with the desegregation order and for the district court to evaluate its compliance.8 percent more black.
It described the FOCUS Gardendale flyer that “ask[ed] Gardendale voters if they would rather live in an affluent white city or a formerly white city that now is well-integrated or predominantly black. It quoted the “belittling language of exclusion” on the public Facebook page. the district court explained that the words and actions of the secession leaders and the Gardendale Board “communicated messages of inferiority and exclusion” to black schoolchildren. The district court found that 28 . The Gardendale superintendent never conferred with the parents of North Smithfield students even though he was in regular communication with Gardendale residents. and the Gardendale Board never voted on any plan that would give North Smithfield students some meaningful assurance that they could continue to attend the Gardendale schools. he ignored reports that Gardendale residents were upset that North Smithfield students would be allowed to attend the Gardendale schools. Third. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 28 of 61 use of this important “desegregatory tool. black students might be less willing to transfer at all.” And the district court added that the other schools in Gardendale have also “played an important role in Jefferson County’s desegregation efforts” because their location makes it “relatively convenient” for black students to take advantage of desegregation transfer opportunities. If desegregation transfer students could no longer attend those schools.” And it explained that the Gardendale Board not only failed to disavow those messages of inferiority but instead reinforced them.
First. honor the wishes of parents who support a local system simply because they want greater control over their children’s education.” Third. to the extent practicable. it noted that it “may consider the interests of” students from Mount Olive and the other communities that would be directly affected by the secession.” In contrast. Gardendale families and students “may blame students from North Smithfield for Gardendale’s inability to operate a municipal system.” Despite finding that the Gardendale Board sought to secede for racially discriminatory reasons and that the secession would impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. and it stated that it “would be reluctant to [release Jefferson County from federal supervision] if the Gardendale zone remains in the Jefferson County district. and it listed four “practical considerations” to support its decision. 29 . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 29 of 61 “[t]he messages of inferiority in the record in this case assail the dignity of black school children. it stated that it “must. the district court sua sponte devised and permitted a partial secession that effectively amended the 1971 desegregation order. it explained that if it prohibited the secession.” Second. it explained that it had to consider the interests of the students and parents in other parts of Jefferson County.” And fourth. permitting the secession would allow the district court to “tailor supervision to the particular needs of the county district and the municipal district. given the evidence of racial motivation in this case.
Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 30 of 61 The district court permitted the Gardendale Board to operate the two elementary schools in Gardendale and stated that the schools must be zoned for students residing within the Gardendale City limits. The Jefferson County Board must retain the middle and high schools until the district court orders otherwise. The plan would either place Gardendale High under the control of Jefferson County or place the high school facility in “an anticipated K-12 Gardendale district. Elementary students from North Smithfield must be zoned for another Jefferson County elementary school. 30 .” The district court then explained that it would consider a renewed motion by the Gardendale Board for the operation of all city schools.” in three years if the Gardendale Board operated the two elementary schools “in good faith compliance with the anticipated desegregation order. The district court also directed counsel for all parties to develop and submit to the district court a proposed desegregation order “tailored to the specific circumstances of the Gardendale City Schools System.” In that case.” And it added that the proposal should “redraw the lines for Snow Rogers and Gardendale Elementary to address capacity issues at Gardendale Elementary. “Kindergarten through 12. the Gardendale Board would have to make an “appropriate payment” to the Jefferson County Board to help fund another facility.” The district court ordered counsel for all parties to develop a proposed facilities plan for the students attending Bragg Middle and Gardendale High.
the [district] [c]ourt decided to place the Gardendale Board under a new desegregation order that creates a fresh start for federal supervision of all aspects of the public schools in Gardendale.” Without that “new” order. the residents of Gardendale could later try again to secede after the 1971 order is dissolved. The plaintiffs. including Gardendale. . After the plaintiffs moved the district court to reconsider its order. . . The district court reasoned that it could not rely on its finding of a discriminatory purpose to prevent a future secession because it “must weigh the possibility that the plaintiff class would not succeed” in seeking “appropriate judicial review and relief” in the 31 . the United States. would be subject to federal supervision for years. and the Jefferson County Board must then submit a joint proposal for the permanent zoning of the students. The district court stated that prohibiting the secession might have been appropriate if it had “recently” issued a desegregation order and “kn[e]w that the [C]ounty. the district court issued a supplemental opinion that defended its decision. The district court also ordered the Gardendale City Council to appoint at least one black resident of Gardendale to the Gardendale Board within 60 days. and federal oversight of the Jefferson County Board of Education may be nearing an end. the district court reasoned.” But because the 1971 order was “45 years old. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 31 of 61 And the Jefferson County Board must permit middle and high school students from North Smithfield to attend a school of their choice for the 2017–18 academic year.
” The district court gave special weight to the interests of black Gardendale residents who supported the secession. The district court also explained that it was concerned about the resentment North Smithfield students would experience if it enjoined the secession. allow the residents of Gardendale and Jefferson County to “heal from this dispute. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 32 of 61 future. and it stressed that North Smithfield students would now benefit from the ability to choose the school they attend.” It later stated that it must consider the “message” that it will send to black parents if it prohibits the secession and forces them to choose between “having their African-American children attend a public school system 32 . It stated that its order would reduce costs to the Jefferson County Board.” and send a message “that any community contemplating separation at the expense of Jefferson County’s desegregation efforts will pay a high price and will have no guarantee that the community will be able to separate. give the Jefferson County Board certainty. It defended its decision to consider the motivations of Gardendale residents who supported the secession for nonracial reasons on the ground that “the residents whom the [district] [c]ourt had in mind are African-American. The district court maintained that its order was tailored to remedy the constitutional violation by the Gardendale Board and restored those harmed to the position they would have occupied had the violation not occurred.
It stated that Wright overruled the holding in Stout I that a district court must prohibit a secession if it finds that the secession will impede the desegregation efforts of a 33 . a student population “more diverse” than the current student populations of the Gardendale middle and high schools. including Mount Olive and North Smithfield. “Although the [district] [c]ourt did not explicitly order” that solution. the district court declared that Stout I was overruled or simply inapplicable. it stated that its order would create. It cited the requirement that Jefferson County retain control of the high school or receive an “appropriate payment.” And it stated that it had “unambiguously signaled that it envisions the creation of a new middle and high school zone comprised of students” from a number of surrounding communities. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 33 of 61 that these parents consider deficient or of moving to a municipal system elsewhere in Jefferson County that will give these parents the control that they desire. if implemented.” its order mitigated the harm from the loss of Gardendale High and the displacement of students that currently attend Gardendale schools. In response to the plaintiffs’ argument that the district court was bound by precedent and the law-of-the-case doctrine to deny the motion to secede. It explained that although “it does not have a tool available that will enable it to erase the message of inferiority conveyed by the conduct of the Gardendale Board.” The district court also revisited its finding that the secession would impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board.
Iron Ship Builders. 696 F. see also Stell v. 1336 (11th Cir.” Id. We may reverse a factual finding “only if the finding is clearly erroneous. Inc. Dist. See United States v.3d 1333. is based on clearly erroneous subsidiary findings of fact. Joseph’s Hosp. (quoting Barber v.” Id.3d 1104. we review de novo the district court’s interpretation and application of the law.2d 750. “Clear error is a highly deferential standard of review. 2012) (evidentiary rulings). 754 (11th Cir. Int’l Bhd.. And. Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. Blacksmiths. 1110 (11th Cir.3d 1325. City of Thomasville Sch. or is based on an erroneous view of the law. 1343 (11th Cir. at 1350 (discussing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a)). U. Forgers & Helpers. St. We review evidentiary rulings and the validity of an equitable remedy for abuse of discretion. 2016) (equitable remedies). the district court stated that it “believes that both the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court would find that the age of this case diminishes the likelihood that Gardendale’s separation would impede the county’s effort to fulfill its desegregation obligations. 34 . of Boilermakers. 842 F.. 425 F. Dortch. STANDARDS OF REVIEW “In school desegregation cases. Savannah-Chatham Cty. in the alternative. Bd. 2005). 778 F.S.” and we review its factual findings for clear error.. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 34 of 61 larger school district. Holton v.” II. 1985)).
III. DISCUSSION We divide our discussion in three parts. we explain that the district court abused its discretion when it permitted the partial secession of the Gardendale Board. 2014).” Id. deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Third. A. .2d 82. I. we explain that the district court did not clearly err when it found.S.. Second.3d 1273.L. . Const. 739 F. we explain that the district court did not clearly err when it found that the Gardendale Board moved to secede for a racially discriminatory purpose. amend. 83 (11th Cir. v. 228 (1985)). at 1286 (alteration adopted) (quoting Hunter v. First. 1989) (reviewing a remedial order in a desegregation case for abuse of discretion). 1277–78 (11th Cir.” U. § 1. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 35 of 61 of Educ.S. The Equal Protection Clause provides that “[n]o State shall . The District Court Did Not Clearly Err When It Found That the Gardendale Board Moved To Secede for a Racially Discriminatory Purpose. The Supreme Court has explained that “[d]etermining whether invidious 35 . that the secession would impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. Underwood. A facially neutral action by a state actor violates the Equal Protection Clause if it is done for a racially discriminatory purpose. in the alternative. A discriminatory purpose exists if “racial discrimination was a substantial or motivating factor behind enactment of the law. XIV. 471 U. Alabama. 222. 888 F.
at 1353 (“The district court was not obliged to recite and analyze individually each and every piece of evidence presented by the parties. Id. 252. 564. 425 F.3d at 1350. We may reverse only if. we are “left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. “If the district court’s account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety. 429 U.” Vill. at 266–68. Corp. at 1351 (quoting Anderson v.. at 1354. see also id. 470 U.” the “specific sequence of events leading up to the challenged decision. Dev. City of Bessemer City. 266 (1977). 470 U.S. Courts may consider the racial “impact of the official action. The existence of conflicting evidence is not sufficient to overturn a finding of fact if it is supported by substantial evidence.” Id. Hous.” Id. and “legislative or administrative history.S. 36 . Metro. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 36 of 61 discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor demands a sensitive inquiry into such circumstantial and direct evidence of intent as may be available. See Holton. 573–74 (1985)). at 1350 (quoting Anderson.S. We review a finding of a racially discriminatory purpose for clear error. the court of appeals may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact.”).” procedural or substantive “departures from the normal” sequence. at 573).” Id. of Arlington Heights v. after reviewing the evidence in its entirety.” the “historical background of the decision. it would have weighed the evidence differently.
429 U. We disagree. only a state actor can violate the Fourteenth Amendment. And it reasonably inferred that the secession leaders expressed “a desire to control the racial demographics of the four public schools in the City of Gardendale and the racial demographics of the city itself. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 37 of 61 The district court relied on relevant circumstantial and direct evidence to support its finding. The Gardendale Board also argues that the district court erred when it found that the statements of the private citizens were racially discriminatory. The Gardendale Board argues that the district court erred by imputing the discriminatory intent of private individuals to state actors. and that some of the statements should not have been admitted because they were not authenticated. at 268. Arlington Heights. the Gardendale Board and its superintendent devised secession plans that reflect the same desire to control the racial demographics of the public schools as had been expressed by the secession leaders. That is. of the secession proposals and reasonably inferred that the secession leaders translated their discriminatory purpose into official action. but constituent statements and conduct can be relevant in determining the intent of 37 . at 267.” The district court also considered the “legislative [and] administrative history. To be sure. that the statements of private citizens are irrelevant.” id. The district court considered the “specific sequence of events leading up to the challenged decision” when it reviewed the public comments made by the secession supporters.S.
we have relied on evidence about the work of private lobbyists to hold that a district court did not clearly err when it ruled that two state constitutional amendments were “financially. Buckeye Cmty.” Id. the Supreme Court explained that “[d]etermining whether invidious discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor demands a sensitive inquiry into such circumstantial and direct evidence of intent as may be available. Seattle School District No. 457. In Arlington Heights. 471 (1982). Hope Found.S. heavy support from the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation. 458 U. 196–97 (2003) (“[S]tatements made by decisionmakers or referendum sponsors during deliberation over a referendum may constitute relevant evidence of discriminatory intent in a challenge to an ultimately enacted initiative. motivated. made its finding based on a record of “massive resistance to substantial property tax increases. 188. and a clash between rural and urban interests. at 1287 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).. For example. 38 . it listed the “historical background” of a decision and the “specific sequence of events leading up to the challenged decision. see also City of Cuyahoga Falls v. And in Washington v. and not discriminatorily. a powerful lobbying organization.” Id..L. The district court in I.S. 1.” Id.L. And as examples of the type of evidence that may be considered. at 266.3d at 1287. the Supreme Court affirmed a finding that a voter initiative was motivated by a discriminatory purpose based on statements made by citizen sponsors and proponents. 739 F. at 267. 538 U.”).” I. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 38 of 61 public officials.
Jefferson County Has Not Achieved Unitary Status. the secession would not impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. in Stout III. In the alternative. The Gardendale Board argues that Jefferson County has already been declared unitary. B. 1. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 42 of 61 The findings by the district court are more than “plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety. but to support that argument. the Gardendale Board recites a few out-of-context statements from the decision of our predecessor circuit in Stout III.” and we would “overstep the bounds of [our] duty under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 52(a)” if we reversed—even if we were “convinced that [we] would have decided the case differently. We affirm the finding that the Gardendale Board acted with a racially discriminatory purpose because that finding is amply supported by this record. 425 F. The Gardendale Board challenges that finding by arguing that the Jefferson County schools have already achieved unitary status and that.3d at 1351. in any event. These arguments fail. For example. The District Court Did Not Clearly Err When It Found That the Secession of Gardendale Would Impede the Desegregation Efforts of the Jefferson County Board. the former Fifth Circuit stated that “the former dual 42 . As an appellate court. the district court found that the secession of Gardendale would impede efforts to desegregate the schools operated by the Jefferson County Board. we do not have the luxury of deciding factual issues de novo.” Holton.
” whether or not “vestiges of past 43 .12 (11th Cir. see also id. The whole of the Stout III opinion makes clear that Jefferson County has not fully fulfilled its desegregation obligations and remains subject to judicial oversight. 775 F.” 537 F. at 803 (“[O]ur guiding lights are the trial court’s conclusions that the Jefferson County system has been effectively desegregated and is unitary and that these three one-race schools are the products of geography and demography alone. 237.” a mistake the Supreme Court identified in Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Georgia.’” 498 U. It meant instead that the school system “ha[d] currently desegregated student assignments.S. 245 (1991).”). Dowell when it explained that “lower courts have been inconsistent in their use of the term ‘unitary.2d at 802.” and later. 1413 n. (quoting Ga.” Id. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 43 of 61 school system [in Jefferson County] has been effectively dismantled and a unitary system substituted. State Branches of NAACP v. The Gardendale Board confuses two uses of the term “unitary. 1985)).2d 1403.” a declaration that would be appropriate only if it had “eliminated the vestiges of its prior discrimination and ha[d] been adjudicated as such through the proper judicial procedures. it added that the district court found that “in Jefferson County[. Our predecessor circuit did not rule that the school system had achieved “unitary status. But both the Supreme Court and this Court have cautioned against reading these kinds of statements out of context.] the uprooting of which the Court spoke has been done and a unitary system is operating.
S.” Holton. for the district court to give especial and renewed consideration to the possibility of broadening and making more attractive its existing majority-to-minority transfer procedures and to the possibility of enriching and strengthening the curriculum to magnet levels” in two facilities. at 245 (quoting Ga. (quoting Lee v. . 1992)). 498 U. it also ruled that the school system “must continue under the scrutiny and surveillance of the district court” and that “it would be appropriate. . not semantics. 425 F. Stout III. and “thus. at 31). Bd. . 402 U.” Id. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 44 of 61 discrimination” still remained. that principle is likely why we explained more than a decade after Stout III that the Jefferson County 44 . Id. of Educ. though [not] require[d] . it is wholly irrelevant what precise language the .2d 1416. Although the former Fifth Circuit stated that the Jefferson County schools were no longer formally segregated. court used.S.” Dowell.2d at 803.9 (11th Cir. .2d at 1413 n. Indeed. 775 F. 1424 n... 963 F. Stout III “makes clear” that the court did not intend to make a unitary-status determination.3d at 1340 (alteration adopted) (quoting Swann. must govern’ in remedying school segregation. 537 F. State Branches of NAACP. That mandate of continued judicial oversight means that our predecessor circuit certainly did not “adjudicate [the unitary status of Jefferson County] through the proper judicial procedures. To hold that Stout III declared that Jefferson County had achieved unitary status would contravene the principle that “‘substance. Etowah Cty.12).
2d 937. Bd. 1987). a district court must consider the effect of the secession. 583 F. 559 F.2d 1445. 559 F. the Supreme Court considered three factors in particular: (1) the potential change in the racial composition of the city and county schools. . 808 F. Houston Indep. . (Ross I). Dist.2d at 714. and the seceding district “bear[s] a heavy burden to show the lack of deleterious effects on desegregation. 944 (5th Cir. To determine whether a proposed secession would impede the desegregation efforts of a larger school district.” which includes all “areas of public school operations or support which the district court may specify as pertinent to the accomplishment of its underlying desegregation order. of Bessemer.” Ross I. 943. of Educ. The District Court Did Not Clearly Err When It Found That Permitting Gardendale To Secede Would Impede the Desegregation Efforts of the Jefferson County Board. Sch.”).2d at 945 (“[T]he burden remains on [the splinter district] to establish that its implementation and operation will meet the tests . the splinter district “must express its precise policy positions on each significant facet of school district operation. 1446 (11th Cir. To satisfy its burden. Ross v.” Brown v.2d at 944. 1977). for permitting newly created districts to come into being for parts of districts already under an ongoing court desegregation order. 2. (2) the ease of identifying the predominant race of the resulting school systems “by 45 . In Wright. see also Ross I. 559 F.” Ross II. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 45 of 61 school system “ha[d] [not] yet been declared unitary.
of Educ. and the secession movement communicated “messages of inferiority” to black students. We will reverse a finding that a proposed secession will impede desegregation efforts only if the district court clearly erred. Kan.” Id. Bd. of Topeka. e. The district court provided three rationales for the finding: the Gardendale school system would inherit Gardendale High.S. 583 F.g. the courts which originally heard these cases can best perform this judicial appraisal. and the judgment is primarily the responsibility of the district judge.S. 294.S. at 18).. 402 U. at 466 n. or the organization of sports activities”.6. Ross II. Together. the three rationales support a finding that the secession will 46 .” (quoting Brown v.2d at 715 n. at 466. and (3) the message the secession would send to black schoolchildren.13 (“Because of their proximity to local conditions and the possible need for further hearings. 407 U. at 464–66 (quoting Swann. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 46 of 61 reference to the racial composition of teachers and staff. (Brown II). 349 U. 299 (1955))). see also id. the quality of school buildings and equipment. students displaced from the Gardendale schools would attend less racially diverse schools. The Supreme Court made clear that “[t]he weighing of the factors to determine their effect upon the process of desegregation is a delicate task that is aided by a sensitivity to local conditions. See. The district court did not clearly err when it found that the secession of Gardendale would have a substantial adverse effect on the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board.
” Missouri v. 425 F. without requiring extensive busing and redrawing of district boundary lines. “one of Jefferson County’s strongest examples of good faith implementation of the Stout desegregation order. 92 (1995). Gardendale High houses a sophisticated career technical program strategically located to attract students from across the County. 273 F. Sch. the Gardendale secession would surely hinder efforts to desegregate Jefferson County because it would require the Jefferson County Board to forfeit this “desegregatory tool. Jenkins.” The district court reasoned that under the December 2015 secession plan. Duval Cty.3d 960. Jacksonville Branch v. according to the district court. We cannot fault the finding that the loss of Gardendale High will impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. 967–68 (11th Cir. 70. As the district court explained. 2001) (commending a school board for its use of magnet programs to encourage desegregation). the high school would only have a 54 47 .3d at 1351.S. see also NAACP. See Holton. 515 U.. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 47 of 61 adversely affect efforts to desegregate Jefferson County.” It would give the Gardendale Board control over what could otherwise become. And both the Supreme Court and this Court have endorsed these kinds of magnet programs because they “have the advantage of encouraging voluntary movement of students within a school district in a pattern that aids desegregation on a voluntary basis.
the district court was entitled to find that the change in ownership militated against permitting the secession. The Gardendale Board argues that the district court “could have ordered Gardendale to keep th[e] [magnet] program open to County students without preference for Gardendale residents. And as we explained in Ross II. The district court found that the secession would force students at Bragg 48 .” but the burden rested with Gardendale—not the district court—to show that its plan would not impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board.” 583 F. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 48 of 61 percent utilization rate and would likely have a less racially diverse student population. Nor did the district court clearly err when it weighed evidence that the secession of Gardendale would result in fewer desegregated schools in Jefferson County. In addition. the district court is permitted to consider the “adverse financial [e]ffect [of a secession] on future desegregation efforts. would likely be a decline in students seeking to transfer schools. at 714. Because the Gardendale Board failed to satisfy that burden. as the district court explained. The result. See id. There would also be an obvious financial effect from the change in ownership with repercussions for the feasibility of other desegregation-related programs. the secession would not provide desegregation transfer opportunities.2d at 715. which would mean that black students from the surrounding areas in Jefferson County would be required to travel further to take advantage of that policy.
467. the district court found that the student population of one receiving school is 99. and the student population of another is 85.33 percent black. 494 (1992). “Racial balance is not to be achieved for its own sake. of Educ.” but it is a valid consideration when “the unlawful de jure policy of a school system has been the cause of the racial imbalance in student attendance. Pitts. the “flyer bearing a photograph of a white student. 273 F.” It cited the Facebook comments. For example. 1989).59 percent white. The district court reasoned that throughout the secession effort. Bd. NAACP. Lowndes Cty. We have criticized “racially identifiable” schools.” the “public rejection of transfer students” by 49 . Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 49 of 61 Middle School and Gardendale High School to attend far less racially diverse schools.. and explained that courts should consider “student assignments” when determining whether a school district has fully remedied the effects of de jure segregation. 503 U. 878 F.S. United States v.” Freeman v. “both words and deeds have communicated messages of inferiority and exclusion. 1308 (11th Cir. The third rationale offered by the district court—that permitting the secession would send “messages of inferiority” to black schoolchildren—is also supported by the law and the record. Jacksonville Branch. The Gardendale Board misunderstands our precedent when it argues that the district court was not permitted to consider evidence related to the racial balance of the relevant schools.3d at 966.2d 1301.
Here. the factual context in Wright was different. In other words. at 494). at 466. but the message was the same. the failure of the Gardendale Board to “disavow the belittling language of exclusion used by [secession] organizers and supporters. True.” 407 U. Id. as the Supreme Court did in Wright.S. There. and the Gardendale superintendent’s decision to attend Gardendale community events even though he refused an invitation to meet with the parents of North Smithfield students. Id. The argument of the Gardendale Board that “[t]here is no Equal Protection right to be shielded from offensive messages” is wholly beside the point.” the inconsistent treatment of the North Smithfield children in the different draft secession plans. Neither 50 . a predominantly white splinter district sought to secede immediately after a desegregation order issued. at 466 (quoting Brown I. the timing of the message was different. at 465–66. the failure of the Gardendale Board to “ma[k]e [a] commitment” to North Smithfield students. 347 U. the district court found that the secession movement communicated a “message” that “cannot have escaped the [black] children in the [C]ounty. But the Supreme Court did not limit its reasoning to messages of inferiority that result from the timing of a secession attempt. District courts may consider the message communicated for any number of reasons if a secession attempt “generates a feeling of inferiority” in black students that is akin to the message condemned in Brown I.S. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 50 of 61 Gardendale residents.
2d at 1419).” Holton. Indeed. the record amply supports its finding that the secession would impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. at 1354 (alteration adopted) (quoting Ga. communicated a message that was intolerable under Wright.” Id. 775 F. C. when considered in the light of the history of the secession movement. By sua sponte amending the 1971 order to permit the partial secession of Gardendale. Although the district court did not clearly err when it made its factual findings. we agree with the plaintiffs and the Jefferson County Board that it abused its discretion when it modified the desegregation order. The district court did not clearly err. The district court reasoned that the official acts of the Gardendale Board and other Gardendale officials. And “we cannot overturn the district court’s finding of fact simply because [other] evidence [i]s merely conflicting. And it devised a novel remedy by weighing legally irrelevant—and sometimes legally 51 . the district court misapplied the law governing both splinter districts and race discrimination. Its “account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety. State Conference of Branches of NAACP.3d at 1351. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 51 of 61 the district court nor the plaintiffs ever suggested that the secession effort violated such a right. The District Court Abused Its Discretion By Permitting a Partial Secession. 425 F.
Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 52 of 61 prohibited—factors. it bore the burden of proof. recognize [its] creation. the proponents of the new district must bear a heavy burden to show the lack of deleterious effects on desegregation. Because the Gardendale Board was the moving party.” and “[i]n such a situation. The district court erred when it ruled that a partial secession could be permitted even though the Gardendale Board had not proved a “lack of deleterious effects on desegregation. Both of the factual findings made by the district court permit only one ruling: denial of the motion to secede.” Ross II. To satisfy that burden. Our precedents make clear that a splinter district must propose and defend a secession plan that will not impede the desegregation efforts of the school district subject to an ongoing desegregation order. the splinter district “must express its precise policy positions on each significant facet of school district 52 . in Ross I. 583 F. .2d at 714. we declared that “[t]he division of a school district operating under a desegregation order can be permitted only if the formation of the new district will not impede the dismantling of the dual school system in the old district.” 583 F. 559 F. in Ross II. Similarly. we explained that the burden to show that the “implementation and operation” of a splinter district “meet[s] the tests outlined for permitting newly created districts to come into being” remains at all times with the splinter district.2d at 404 (citation omitted). For example. .2d at 714. When the splinter district fails to satisfy that burden. 448 F. “the district court may not .” Stout I.2d at 945.
” United States v. that “[i]f [a secession] proposal would impede the dismantling of [a] dual system.3d 662. it erroneously concluded that the Supreme Court overruled that precedent in Wright and granted district courts greater discretion over whether to permit a splinter district.” Id. then a district court. in the exercise of its remedial discretion. The district court stated that “the facts of this case have changed” and that “it would 53 . Anderson. Wright instead “h[e]ld only that a new school district may not be created where its effect would be to impede the process of dismantling a dual system. may enjoin it from being carried out” as granting a district court more flexibility. The district court read the statement in Wright. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 53 of 61 operation. required it to prohibit the secession. at 470. When the Gardendale Board failed to satisfy its burden. which provides that earlier decisions “bind all subsequent proceedings in the same case” as to “both findings of fact and conclusions of law.S. at 944. Stout I. The district court also erred when it ruled that it was not bound to follow Stout I under the law-of-the-case doctrine. Although the district court acknowledged that at least one precedent. the district court should have denied the motion before it. 668 (11th Cir.” Id. But Wright never suggested that a district court could fashion a more limited secession plan of its own making when it finds that a proposed plan would impede desegregation. 407 U. 772 F. at 460. 2014) (alteration adopted and citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
Main Drug. 129 (5th Cir. Inc. or the appellate decision.3d 1228.” Although there are “limited exceptions to the law-of-the- case doctrine [for situations in which] ‘there is new evidence. Mass. Mut. e.’” id. Healthcare. 642 F. Garner et al. We and the district court are bound by every other splinter-district decision of the Supreme Court and this Court..”). including Wright. See Bryan A. and Ross II. 1230 (11th Cir. Inc. Datapoint Corp.S. 54 ... And the district court provided no explanation for why its application would work a manifest injustice in this case.2d 123. 825 F. v. 1510 (11th Cir. That precedent still governs proposed secessions of municipal school systems. none of those exceptions apply here. Life Ins. we cannot overrule a decision of a prior panel of this court. 1981))). 2007) (“[W]ithout a clearly contrary opinion of the Supreme Court or of this court sitting en banc. The Law of Judicial Precedent 176 (2016) (“The fact that a case remains an accurate statement of the law through many generations often shows that it should be afforded special respect .” (quoting NLRB v.. . Ross I. at 668–69 (quoting Litman v. 475 F. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 54 of 61 work a manifest injustice for th[e] [district] [c]ourt not to take the lack of activity in the case into account. Co. would cause manifest injustice because it is clearly erroneous. Aetna U. . If anything. an intervening change in controlling law dictates a different result. 1987) (en banc) (alteration adopted)). their age enhances that effect.2d 1506. if implemented. The age of these decisions does not diminish their precedential effect.g. See. . Apr.. Stout I remains good law.
114 (1918))).3d 204.3d at 1337 (quoting Freeman. State Conference of NAACP v.S. Milliken v.S. 247 U. 2016) (collecting citations). e. Bradley. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 55 of 61 The finding that a racially discriminatory purpose motivated the Gardendale Board also obliged the district court to deny the motion to secede. Hunter v.S. the courts were not faced with a motion to amend an extant desegregation order..S. Seattle Sch. . Dist. 281 (1977). 471 U.S. see also N. 378 (1975). 515 U. 1.C. 433 U. To be sure. But in those cases. No. see also Jenkins. The 1971 order issued to ensure that the Jefferson County Board “eliminate[d] the vestiges of the unconstitutional de jure system” so that “the principal wrong of the de jure system. 831 F. at 487. Underwood. . McCrory.S. v. Co. . The Supreme Court has explained that official actions motivated by a discriminatory purpose “ha[ve] no legitimacy at all under our Constitution. the Supreme Court has stated that district courts supervising school desegregation cases have “broad” equitable authority to remedy the effects of past de jure segregation. 422 U. at 485). 267. Foster. 222.S. 239 (4th Cir. 233 (1985).g.” (quoting Western Union Tel. at 88. the injuries and stigma inflicted upon the race disfavored by the violation. 358. 425 F. Faced with a motion to 55 .” City of Richmond v. 105. That is why the Supreme Court has repeatedly invalidated government actions that violate the Equal Protection Clause. See. see also id.” Holton. United States. at 379 (“[A]cts generally lawful may become unlawful when done to accomplish an unlawful end . is no longer present. 503 U. 458 U.
it abused its discretion. The district 56 .” “the victims of [the] discriminatory conduct” was to deny the motion to secede. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 56 of 61 amend that order by a school board motivated by invidious discrimination. the district court—unprompted by either party—devised its own secession plan. 515 U. in part. the district court was obliged to deny the motion. Here.S. When the district court rejected this option in favor of permitting a new board created.” “as nearly as possible. Instead of denying the motion to secede. which is governed by a federal order to desegregate its schools. black schoolchildren who attend Gardendale schools would continue to benefit from the supervision of the Jefferson County Board. it weighed a number of impermissible considerations and thereby abused its discretion.” Jenkins. for the purpose of racial discrimination to control the educational policy of at least two schools. In doing so. Its finding of a racially discriminatory purpose required the district court to deny the motion to secede in its entirety. The district court failed to abide by the mandate to “restore the victims of discriminatory conduct to the position they would have occupied in the absence of such conduct. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). and it drew a series of impermissible conclusions from that supposition. the clear way to “restore. If the motion were denied. The district court speculated that the 1971 order may soon be dissolved. Id. at 88 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
” And it explained that it had to “weigh the possibility that the plaintiff class would not succeed” in proving racially discriminatory purpose. and the Gardendale high school facility. Multiple errors plague this reasoning.” So it decided “to place the Gardendale Board under a new desegregation order that creates a fresh start for federal supervision of all aspects of the public schools in Gardendale. without a constitutional violation. “there would be no federal desegregation order to protect zoning. in that scenario. it would be unable to protect the plaintiffs. interdistrict transfers. It stated that it is “not a safe assumption” that “in a few years.” It added that the new order was appropriate because the plaintiffs may not be able to prove racially discriminatory purpose in the future and. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 57 of 61 court stated that if it permitted the secession. it would be “reluctant” to release Jefferson County from the 1971 order because of the “evidence of racial motivation in this case. the situation in Gardendale will be identical to the set of circumstances that produced the [district] [c]ourt’s finding that the Gardendale Board violated the Fourteenth Amendment. if Jefferson County were to succeed. it appeared to be less concerned that Jefferson County might fail to obtain a unitary-status determination than that it would succeed.” In its later supplemental opinion. the residents of Gardendale could again attempt to secede and. According to the district court. As a threshold matter. the district court had no basis to speculate about the possibility that Jefferson County might or 57 .
S. A new desegregation order may not be imposed to guard against the possibility that a constitutional violation will either soon be remedied or no longer exist. Although a racially discriminatory purpose motivated it to secede. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 58 of 61 might not obtain a determination of unitary status. A desegregation order must instead remedy state- sanctioned segregation that has already been adjudicated.. 433 U. 58 . it modified the 1971 order. In other words. the Gardendale Board had not implemented its plan so as to require a judicial remedy to unravel it. and the district court was obliged to reject that proposal. e. So when the district court permitted the Gardendale Board to operate a new school system. at 282)). If the district court had imposed an entirely new desegregation order.” The district court was faced with a motion to amend the 1971 order and erred when it described its order as imposing a “new desegregation order. The district court acknowledged that it “[did] not have before it information that [would] allow it to determine just how close Jefferson County may be to the end of supervision. at 88 (“[F]ederal-court decrees must directly address and relate to the constitutional violation itself.” When a splinter district moves to secede from a school district governed by a desegregation order. the Gardendale Board only proposed to violate the Fourteenth Amendment.g. the movant seeks to modify that order. that order would have been unlawful. See.S.” (quoting Milliken. 515 U. Jenkins.
” But even if the parents the district court identified were state actors relevant to the constitutional analysis. “[t]he existence of a permissible purpose cannot sustain an action that has an impermissible effect. Brown II would have been in error. Indeed. at 462. “the vitality of .” Brown II. The district court stated that it “must. As the Supreme Court put it then.S. But even if the plaintiffs had suggested—contrary to their litigating position—that such a concern was plausible. 349 U. Even more 59 . the history of school desegregation is rife with conflict. honor the wishes of parents who support a local system simply because they want greater control over their children’s education. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 59 of 61 The district court also erred when it speculated that the possible social tension caused by finding a constitutional violation would warrant allowing the violation to succeed in part. Wright made clear that when a locality attempts to secede from a school district subject to an ongoing desegregation order. if animosity alone could thwart constitutional imperatives. The district court stated that it had to consider the interests of students from North Smithfield who “may feel unwelcome in Gardendale schools” if it denied the motion to secede.” 407 U.S. to the extent practicable. And the district court erred when it suggested that the benign motivations of some Gardendale residents could cure the discriminatory motivation of the Gardendale Board. . constitutional principles cannot be allowed to yield simply because of disagreement with them. . at 300.
” Jenkins. the plaintiffs’ counsel represented that they and the Jefferson County Board expect later this year to present the district court a plan for the final resolution of this litigation.2d at 1215. the “local autonomy of school districts is a vital national tradition.S. 515 U. 466 F. If the Gardendale Board.” Stout II. The authority of the judiciary to intervene in the “local autonomy” of Jefferson County. At oral argument. at 99. Of course. satisfies its burden to develop a secession plan that will not impede the desegregation efforts of the Jefferson County Board. Jenkins. In the meantime.S. which has lasted more than a half century. is tied to the constitutional violation at issue: the earlier de jure segregation of schools.S. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 60 of 61 concerning. both Wright and our precedents about splinter districts still govern the Gardendale Board. We encourage that effort to bring this remedial phase to an end. 407 U. 515 U. which should be—and is—legally irrelevant. We hold only that the 60 . Indeed. We do not belittle the “need that is strongly felt in our society” to have “[d]irect control over decisions vitally affecting the education of one’s children. the district court gave special weight to the concerns of some Gardendale parents because of their race. at 469. at 99. we do not suggest that the Gardendale Board of Education is “forever [a] vassal of the [C]ounty [B]oard. then the district court may not prohibit the secession. for permissible purposes in the future.” Wright.
and REMAND WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO DENY THE MOTION OF THE GARDENDALE BOARD TO SECEDE. 61 . IV. CONCLUSION We AFFIRM IN PART. REVERSE IN PART. Case: 17-12338 Date Filed: 02/13/2018 Page: 61 of 61 desire for local autonomy must yield when a constitutional violation is found and remains unremedied.

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