Opinion ID: 433833
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis of the compensatory and remedial programs approved by the district court.

Text: 142 The position of the State before this Court with respect to the quality education programs is somewhat ambiguous. In its opening brief, it argued that the city and county schools had not agreed to a quality education package and that therefore the district court had nothing to approve. 16 It further asserted that 143 [t]he Quality Education [component] is not only essential from a contractual point of view but also from a constitutional standing. The 15,000 black children in north St. Louis who will not have the opportunity to transfer under the Plan are still victims of constitutional wrongdoing as found by the court. The Quality Education section of the Plan is virtually the only remedy available to those black children to redress their wrong. Without it they stand as victims without redress. 144 State's Opening Brief at 26-27. 145 It concluded by stating that the court did not have the authority to modify the agreement to include the quality education component. 146 In its reply brief, the State changed the focus of its argument and complained that the provisions requiring improvement in the quality of education in the integrated schools were only remotely related to desegregation. It continued to assert this position at oral argument. 147 The State is not a party to the settlement agreement. It thus lacks standing to question the validity of the agreement on its terms. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2206, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975); Fisher v. Tucson School District No. 1, 625 F.2d 834, 837 (9th Cir.1980). Even assuming that the State has standing to raise such a question, the district court found that the parties had a meeting of the minds with respect to the essential terms of the agreement. This finding is not clearly erroneous. 148 The State clearly has standing, however, to challenge the district court's funding order and did so before that court. It renews that challenge here. It argues, in substance, that the court approved funding for general educational improvements in the integrated schools which were unrelated to desegregation. 17 Its argument here is twofold. First, the State contends that these programs may only be approved if the Court can find that they would have been a part of the city school system but for the past unconstitutional segregation. This position misreads the case law and ignores the reality of the harm imposed by segregated schools. The relevant inquiry is not whether, in absence of a de jure dual system, St. Louis schools would have had compensatory and remedial programs. None of the numerous cases cited above approving such programs rested on such a conclusion. The point is that compensatory and remedial education programs are necessary to remedy the effects of discrimination on the victims of segregation and the school system itself. 149 The second aspect of the State's argument is that there are no findings made by the district court, nor sufficient support in the record, to suggest that the quality education improvements are only remedial in nature. 18 The Second Circuit recently observed that the line between remedial purpose and general educational improvements unrelated to desegregation is inevitably blurred: 150 [A] court is entitled to require money for programs that materially aid the success of the overall desegregation effort. A program of that sort is not disqualified for needed funding simply because its inclusion improves the overall quality of the school system. At the same time a court must be alert not to permit a school board to use a court's broad power to remedy constitutional violations as a means of upgrading an educational system in ways only remotely related to desegregation. Striking the balance necessarily requires considerable deference by a district court to the good faith representations of the school authorities    and by a reviewing court to the knowledgeable assessment of a district judge intimately familiar with local conditions. 151 Arthur v. Nyquist, supra, 712 F.2d at 813 (citations omitted). 152 We think that the district court's order is fully supported as it relates to the quality improvements in the nonintegrated schools. Neither the State, the United States, nor the City specifically objects to these improvements. Moreover, they are consistent with the testimony of every expert witness that testified. The reduction in class-size was viewed by the witnesses for the black plaintiffs as critical to raising the achievement levels of black students. The programs designed to intensify remedial instruction, encourage parental involvement, and promote a positive learning climate reflect the objectives that the Supreme Court approved in Milliken II. See Bradley v. Milliken, 402 F.Supp. 1096, 1118-1119 (E.D.Mich.1975), aff'd and remanded, 540 F.2d 229 (6th Cir.1976), aff'd, 433 U.S. 267, 97 S.Ct. 2749, 53 L.Ed.2d 745 (1977). The schools of emphasis assist in providing equal educational opportunity by providing alternative education options for black students unable to attend magnet schools. The motivational programs are designed to bring about productive attitudes towards learning, and are essential in the opinion of expert witnesses called by the black plaintiffs. See Haywood, Compensatory Education, 59 Peabody J. of Educ. 272, 274 (1982). Crain & Mahard, How Desegregation Orders May Improve Minority Academic Achievement, 16 Harv.C.R.-C.L.L.Rev. 693, 702 (1982). 153 Notwithstanding our affirmance in principle of the district court's order insofar as it relates to the all-black schools, we believe that the following modifications to the order should be made so that careful planning and effective implementation may proceed without disruption of the current school year: 154 (1) To the extent that any of the programs have been heretofore instituted, they may be continued. The remaining programs may be instituted at the beginning of the 1984-85 school year. The summer school program may be implemented for the summer of 1984. 155 (2) The reduction in class size from present levels to the 20:1 pupil-teacher ratio should be made over a period of four years beginning in 1984-85. The phased reduction recognizes that as many as 12,500 additional black students may transfer to county schools in the next four years, and that as many as 3,000 more black students may transfer to magnet schools during the same period. By coordinating the class-size reduction with the transfers, student and teacher disruption can be lessened and the construction or rehabilitation of school buildings to house the smaller classes minimized. 156 (3) The amount budgeted for item B.1.01, Coordination of Instruction, should be reduced by one-half. Evelyn F. Luckey, an expert witness for the Liddell plaintiffs, testified that the program could be successfully accomplished within the limits of the reduced amount.(4) The schools of emphasis should be phased in over a two-year period beginning in 1984-85. 157 (5) Detailed planning for the programs in the all-black schools should continue so that the programs can be implemented on schedule. 158 We cannot fully agree with the district court's conclusion that all of the quality education improvements in all schools are closely related to the integration process. While we concur with the Second Circuit's view that a district court should show considerable deference to the good faith representations of the school authorities, and that we should show similar deference to the judgment of the district court, a review of the record leaves us with the firm conviction that the district court erred in approving many of the programs in the quality education budget. 159 We begin our analysis by indicating our areas of agreement with the district court. Initially, we believe there is strong support in the record for approving those programs necessary to permit the city schools to regain, and then retain, their Class AAA status. This standard is developed by the Department of Education of the State of Missouri. See Handbook for Classification and Accreditation of Public School Districts in Missouri (1980). Seventy-four percent of the children attending Missouri public schools attend schools that have this rating. Missouri School Directory (1982-83). The City Board was denied this rating because its classes were too large, it had too many uncertified teachers, it lacked counselors in the elementary grades, it did not provide art, music, and physical education in the elementary grades, and its library and media services were inadequate. 19 160 Second, we find adequate support in the record for preschool centers (budget item A.4.01, $811,000), and for planning and program development (a part of budget item A.1.01, $585,000). Both of these programs are recommended by the State Department of Education, and both have been shown to be closely related to the desegregation process. 161 Third, we find adequate support in the record for all-day kindergartens (budget item A.4.02, $6,129,000); parental involvement (budget item A.8.05); desegregation planning (budget item A.8.13, $41,000); long-range planning (budget item A.8.15, $431,000); and public affairs (budget item A.8.06, $184,000). The all-day kindergarten program serves several important compensatory and remedial objectives. Much of the testimony at the fairness hearings emphasized the importance of focusing desegregation efforts on the earlier grades, as younger children have developed fewer racial prejudices and differences in performance are narrower. See Hawley, Effective Educational Strategies for Desegregated Schools, 59 Peabody J. of Educ. 209, 214 (1982). The additional instruction time will also assist in building prerequisite skills for city pupils. The testimony also emphasized that many of the children came from single-parent families that did not provide them with the skills which would permit them to compete with other children at the first-grade level. See Milliken II, supra, 433 U.S. at 284, 97 S.Ct. at 2759. The all-day kindergarten program is an expensive one which must be implemented carefully if waste is to be avoided, and the full benefits of the program realized. We therefore direct that the program be phased in over a period of at least two years. 162 Parental involvement is similarly emphasized, both in the record and in the literature, as crucial to the success of the desegregation plan. See, e.g., Hawley, Effective Educational Strategies for Desegregated Schools, supra, at 212, 225-226. Because many students will not be attending their neighborhood schools as a result of the student transfers, special parent-staff seminars and other programs will be critical in developing and maintaining parental involvement. The changes involved in implementing the plan, and the future demographic and student enrollment shifts, render long-range planning essential to the successful desegregation of the city schools. The public affairs program is essential to citizen awareness and acceptance of the plan. 163 In light of the foregoing discussion, we approve the district court's funding order insofar as it relates to programs necessary to the city schools to retain their AAA rating. While the record is not entirely clear as to precisely what programs the State required the City Board to institute to regain this rating, it appears that they are budget items A.2.01, library and media services; A.2.02, audio visual services; A.3.01, lower class size; and A.3.02, restoration of art, music, and physical education. It is the intention of the Court that these budget items be implemented only insofar as necessary for the city schools to retain their AAA status. Retaining this status does not include a further class-size reduction in the integrated schools. We also approve the following additional programs: preschool centers, planning and program development, all-day kindergarten, parental involvement, desegregation planning, long-range planning, and public affairs. 164 We cannot, however, find adequate support in the record for the remaining programs. All are desirable, but the City Board has not made the case that they are necessary to provide equal educational opportunities to the children of St. Louis, or are otherwise essential as remedial or compensatory programs. 165