Opinion ID: 785104
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Proceedings on Remand From Our 1997 Decision

Text: 17 Below we briefly review the aspects of the proceedings conducted and the orders issued by the district court on remand from our 1997 decision in this case that are relevant to this appeal. 18 In June 1998, the district court ruled that it would no longer consider the consolidation of Mississippi Valley State and Delta State, since the Board had concluded that the merger was not practical. Thus, as we instructed it to do in our 1997 opinion, the court directed the Board to study programs that could be implemented at Mississippi Valley State to attract non-African-American students. Next, the district court found that the Board was in the process of implementing a Ph.D. program in social work at Jackson State. After observing that, in response to our 1997 decision, the Board had ceased using ACT scores as the sole criterion for awarding scholarships, the district court instructed the Board to submit information to the court and to the Plaintiffs regarding the educational soundness of using ACT scores as one aspect of the scholarship-award criteria. 19 In August 1998, the district court appointed a monitor to aid the court and the parties in implementing the remedial decree: Dr. Jerry Boone, a former state university administrator from Tennessee. 6 20 In October 1999, the district court ruled that the Board had fully complied with several of its obligations concerning Jackson State. After considering the monitor's status report, the court concluded that the Board had implemented academic programs in allied health, social work (Ph.D.), urban planning (masters and Ph.D.), and business (Ph.D.) at Jackson State. The court also noted that the Board had conducted an institutional study of Jackson State and had prepared to establish an engineering school at the university. Accordingly, the court stated that the Board had complied with most of its duties regarding new academic programs at Jackson State. 21 In July 1999, the district court ruled that the Board had complied with the paragraph of the remedial decree concerning coordination of admissions standards and establishment of articulation agreements between the State's community colleges and its universities. The court found that Mississippi's community colleges had approved an open-admissions policy. Further, the court observed that the Board had standardized an alternative procedure for students to qualify for university admission by completing specified requirements at a community college. The court also noted that, under the Board's policy, students who unsuccessfully attempt the summer remedial program are counseled regarding community-college enrollment. 22 In July 2000, the district court approved the Mississippi Legislature's appropriation of funds to construct a facility to house the court-ordered MBA program at Alcorn State's Natchez campus. See Ayers v. Fordice, No. 4:75CV009-B-D, 2000 WL 1015839, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9877, at  (N.D.Miss. July 6, 2000). 23 In January 2001, the district court issued an order regarding legal and pharmacy education at Jackson State. Finding no unmet demand for legal education in the Jackson area, the court concluded that the Board need not establish a law school at Jackson State for the purpose of desegregating that institution. The district court also found that the existing pharmacy program at the University of Mississippi was meeting the State's need for pharmacy education. It further ruled that the creation of either a law school or a pharmacy school at Jackson State was neither feasible nor educationally sound. 7 The district court then announced that [w]ith these issues resolved, the court finds that all elements of the Ayers Remedial Decree having to do with Jackson State University and involving significant expenditures of funds have now been completed. 24 In February 2001, the district court concluded that the Board's proposal regarding facilities-maintenance funds essentially satisfied this aspect of the remedial decree. 25 To summarize the status of this litigation when the district court was presented with the proposed settlement agreement, most of both the district court's remedial decree and our instructions on remand had been implemented. Thus, only the following issues remained to some extent unresolved: (1) further review of the uniform admissions standards; 8 (2) continued evaluation of the summer remedial program; 9 (3) investigation of potential new academic programs that might help to desegregate Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State; (4) assessment of equipment funding; and (5) consideration of the use of ACT scores as a component of the criteria for awarding scholarships. 26