Opinion ID: 1186887
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Segregation Determinations

Text: (8) Plaintiffs challenge the Board's determinations as to which of its five schools were segregated; they argue that the Board erred in refusing to adopt sufficiently specific criteria to guide its determinations, and that the Board did not properly consider community attitudes towards the character of the schools. We address these contentions in order. In making its segregation determinations, the Board relied exclusively on the five criteria listed in section 93, subdivision (b), of the BOE Regulations. (See also Crawford, supra, at p. 304.) Both the Regulations and the Guidelines recommend that a school board adopt numerical criteria for determining which schools are segregated. The Regulations provide: The governing board may determine that a school is segregated when the minority composition of such school exceeds a specified percentage, exceeds a specified percentage in excess of the percentage of that minority in the district, or may utilize other criteria. (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 5, § 93, subd. (b)(1); see also Guidelines, op. cit. supra, ch. 6, p. 10.) The provisions of the Guidelines and Regulations are worded in permissive, not mandatory, language; the Board was not required to adopt specific criteria. Indeed, Crawford recognized that courts should not mandate the use of fixed mathematical formulae based solely upon student racial composition to determine whether segregation exists: [I]n determining whether a particular school is `segregated' for constitutional purposes, we do not believe set racial or ethnic percentages can be established, either in absolute terms or in terms of the racial composition of a particular district's student population. Under the California Constitution, as under the federal Constitution, `[w]hat is or is not a segregated school will necessarily depend on the facts of each particular case. In addition to the racial and ethnic composition of a school's student body, other factors, such as the racial and ethnic composition of faculty and staff[,] and the community and administration attitudes toward the school, must be taken into consideration.' ( Crawford, supra, at pp. 303-304, quoting Keyes v. School District No. 1 (1973) 413 U.S. 189, 196 [37 L.Ed.2d 548, 556, 93 S.Ct. 2686].) In Crawford we overturned the trial court's definition of segregation because it was based solely on racial percentages of students in particular schools. ( Crawford, supra, at p. 302, fn. 12.) Although racial imbalance of students may be the primary indicator of segregation, it is not the only element to be considered; local boards are obligated to weigh a number of factors in determining the existence of segregation. To the extent that the Regulations suggest that it is appropriate for school boards to formulate per se, mathematical rules for defining segregation  relying solely on racial composition data  they are inconsistent with Crawford and are hereby disapproved. One criterion that school boards must consider in determining which schools are segregated is [t]he attitudes of the community, administration and staff as to whether each school is a `minority' or `non-minority' school. (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 5, § 93, subd. (b)(3).) Plaintiffs assert that the Board failed to develop enough data to adequately assess community attitudes. We disagree. Representatives of the District surveyed the advisory committee members regarding their attitudes towards which schools were segregated. The committee  composed of parents, principals, students, and administrators  did not perceive Camarillo, Hueneme, or Rio Mesa High Schools to be segregated; they did, however, perceive Channel Islands and Oxnard High Schools to be segregated. It would have been preferable had the District undertaken a limited statistical survey of attitudes among students, staff, and parents to get a clear picture of community perceptions; but neither the BOE Regulations nor the California Constitution requires such a poll. We decline the plaintiffs' suggestion to burden financially pressed school districts by compelling them to conduct district-wide community opinion polls.