State. Agencies Stater 1 Vel, A, Review of the Rtory of School Dg L
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. 60CDMTIT-RESUME . r- t. , ED 178-07. OD 019886' 1 . TITLLE s'chools Désegtegatio* inBoston; A Staff Report , Prepared% Eor the Hearing' of the O.S. Commissionon civil Rights in .B ton,, Massachusetts, June 19715. 1SSTiTUTION Commission on CI,1 Nights,- Washington, D.C. a PUB DATE Jun16 .. A NOTE 164.P. ., ''. t , Ebiis MF051/PC07 EPTus Postage., DE SCRIFTQEt S 'Agency. Hoke; *City. Government; *Comm'uity Characteristits;, Demography; fAIDentary SecOndiry . -,Education;'Fe4eral Court Litigation;Federal Goveinment; Governmbut Role;'Integrat a ion Litigation; *IntegratiOn Flans; *taw Emforceaent;Polace; *School Integrtion; State. Agencies \. , ID ENTIFIEI S *Massachuett,s (Boston) ABSTRiCT ii fhis report--proitidesan overview of school )- desegregation efforts in Xoston, Massachusetts.BackgrAund information on the city itd its sschool systea isprovided. Included are dem gralphic statistics abott the ,...rston area, kodesoription of the da 1components,pe tle educational' structureat the local and Stater 1 vel,a, review of the rtory of school dggegregation.nl the' city, And a summary of' key' fleags in the 1974 Federal 'district court dedisimi regarding. racial ubalance in the geston school spstem. -The desegtegation Plan'Ordered by, the districtcourt is described and resitining problem areaSare outlined: Also dikussed are the Othority and responsRality ofiyarious Federal asenCies,in pchoql desegregation cases and the actPities. ofthese Agencies in Boston. in addition, the stxuctup3,1of -State knd localenforcement agencies are examined and their involvement indesegregation.4related assignments since Septeubgr 1974--is desCribed. Appendeda zeucharts -' showirig the institutional hierarchj bf Boston's eduCationalland :. police systems, 'as well as a chrOlogical 0/1ineof legal , .developaents under Phase X of-the, ci4;yAs schooldesegregation-plan. , (EB4 a t{ . 0 * Reproctiactionssupplied by EDES. are the best'.Unit canbe made * from the original docdment. **4:***************4-44*********************1**********.***************** 1 tl CT23 1979 a ("I Li SCHOOL DESBGIV ON IN BOSTON a 9.41 4. o' A s ff reptt prepared for the hear ng of &U.S. Commission on Ci il Rights in/Boston, Massa husetts, Ji6e 1975. 01PARTIAIENY OF PONALym. L.CATIOW WIL.191111 110AL 11.811111/11 OF 4 IDUCATION VHI DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REPRO- OUC EXACTLy AS RECEIVEO FROM THE ERSOAI OR ORGANI:ATION ()AIWA-. ATtAO IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINiONS ST TEO DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE. ir OF FACIAL NATIONAL INSTWIE OF DUCAT ION POSITION OR POLICY 714 ficsd 1/4 Commission.on Civil Righis The U.S. Commission on Civil Ri hts 4s 4 temporary, independent,'-. bipartisan agency establishe4 Congreas in 1957 to: Investigats/complaints ,alleging denial of the'right to vote by reasonof /ace, color,'religion, sex, or national origin,,or by reason of frau4nlent practices; Study and calect information concerning'legal sievelopM'ents constituting a denial of equal'pro4etion of the laws under tile Constitution becalise of race;4 color, relligion, Emit, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; Appraise Federal laws and pdlicies with respect to theAenial of equal.Orotecbion of ehe laws because of eace, color, reli ion, sex, or naiionalorigin, or in the administration of justice; V Serve as a national cIlaringhouse for information concerning denials of equarprOtection of the-laws because of race, color, religion, se?c, or natioital origin; and , .40 Submit reports, findings, and recommendaiiOns tO the President and the Congress, No. .- Members of the Commissioni Arthur S. FlemmingChairman---1 Stephen Horn, Vice Chairman r Frankie M...Freemin Robeit S. Rankin Manuel Ruiz, Jr. Murray paltzman / 4* John A. Hype, Staff Director Is V .4 0'. Preface 4 This stqff report is the product ofrecent research by . Commission staff. Its purpose is to provide an introductioti to the complex. and,protracted.record of1 school desegregatift, efforts in Boston. The first part of,the report provides basic backgrouni , \ informationon Boston and dhe schoel system. This-secition Includes demographic statistics about the Bostonarea, idestifieq the major comporknts. of the educational structure at the,State level and in Soston,, btiefly tracLit the history of school, desegregation in Boston, and summarizes the key findings in ' 'the June 1974 Federal district court decisioq in thecase. The second.part of the report detlis the provisions.of des4egregation plan ordered by the districtcourt to be implemented in Boston, and notes remaining problemareas. The thiid part states'the authority and responsibility of various Federal agencies in school desegregation Cases and summarizes related activities of those agencielin.Boston, ii The last part of the report examines the structuxle o State And 16cal law enfordement,agdndiesrand briefly des-.. 4 cribes their involvement in.desegtegation-related asstgn-- mentssinleSeptember 1974. Severeptime constraints have limited the scope.and depth of coverage of subjects covered in this Teport A more thorough and conclusive study of school desegregation in Boston will be inande4 in a final report to be issued at a later date following the h4hring. A p. Contens Page I. BACKGROUND r 1 Summary ir,- 1 Demographic Profile 4 The Educational ftiirarohy 38 History of School Deaegregation . r 59 . II. THE.DESEGREGATION FLAN ... 76 Summary. - , 76 Phase .I I, r A , Phase 'II r 40 . A rThe Masters!1/2lan ' - ,, 82 1 i , Phase II Provisions' r .* 84. --, 1 dPhase II: Remaining troblems 98 . , III.- FEDERAI:-GOVERNMAn INVOLVEINT 102 Summary .. 102 Department of Health, tducation, and Wel/fare -& 104- r Department of Aistice , ' 109 White House , 115 LAW ENFORCENENT 118 SumMary -.118 Boston Police DeparSpent 120 Massachusetts State Police 134 Netropolitam District Commission 138 Masiachuqetts National'Guard 142 , Federal Intervention 4,, 145. APPEtDICES . 'A. Institutional Hierarchy of Boston'b Educational Sysfem 150 - t. phronology 8f Legal*Developments Under Phase I 151 e Boston* Police Organization -9- 155 I --, ) r. TAB S I. ( / 1. Most Common National Crigipo of the Foreign Bornsand , Their First Generationof Oaspring 8 , * . 2. Ocupations of Total Labor Forde and Brack 'labor ForFe in,Boston ..r7..r... 12 3. Sectorsof/the Economy6in Whichthe Toa1 sabot. Force and the Black Labor Force*Are Eniployed .. 12 . / TABLES. 'Page . 4. Most CommOn National.Origins of the Foreign,Born and' Their First GeneratiOn of Offspring in Four Areas of Boston4 '25 , 5. Educatibnal Alliatniment of Adults in Pour .Sectidns of Boston 27 6. Occupational Distribution of the Laboryo4rce Four Sections of Boston 28 T6?, Famlliei by1ncome Levels in Four Sections of Soston Changes in BlaCic anekWhité PopUlation Iktween 1950' and 1970 Yfor Selected Areas E4 Boston ...... 37 FIGIAE 1. Map of the City of Boston 7 4 . 4 6 e-' ** 1 e4 I. BACKGROUND _ a .Suinmary lioston resemhles other lare cities in terms of its declining poli.ulation.but'growing ulinority _community_;its raciallyaepa- rate neighborhoods and;schoo s (most blacks reside in Roxbury and parts of Dorchesterl; and i s grawih, and more affluent subilrbs. On ,the ethet hanA, Boston differs Lnetoinparison to other large citia in terills ofiits large foreignr-born and ethnic popula, tion, predominantly Irnisii and Iealian, but includinga growing . 7 Spianish speaking minoiity; its mioderate sized black community (ap?rox- 4'imately 17;percent); 1s physical compactness'and high population a. density; its relativy low median income; and its low tate of home 11 . ownerphip. , . The cit 1of B ston has experienced strpng migration of white . families.to the stiburbs since.1950, long befo're school-desegregation A became an issue. pattern is true even for sections of the city , thatlihave never,had any signiI)cant'influx of bladk residents. Bosto haa a large paroChial and private school.enrollment (about 35,600)as 'wella's a.large imblic schoolenrollment (93,000).Ifhe public schools, dn addition to their traditional pattern of racial segregation, featuxe alow pupil-staff.ratio;high dropout iates; I. "ft a 1 2 .low .reading test achievmentscores; an'd a low percentage of black . teache7 .and adminidtrators incomparison to the percentages of black school entollment and blackresidents. ihepublic vhools have noteoperatedas a pure,. netighborhood school system; about one-third of pubiic schoolpupils were buged-in the early 1970's for a varipty ofpurposes,unrelated to school desegr"ation. , 'Responsibility for hucational policy in Boston ls vested in a s . / . the Boston School CommittA'. The committee has virtually toe41 . coihttol over akl school matters add has frequeutly Inv9lved itself .. f in administrative operati4ins. Efforts to abolish the committee and improve the efficiency of the Bos11.991School Department idhich adminis- ' ters committee policy, haverfailedel P ( ,The Siate board of education has, ultimaie responsibilipr for local school, comnittee cornpliapce .with all'State laws concerning ) public education. The Stare b ard can refei cases of noncompliance to the State attorney general 'kind can also withhold Federal and State f4nds from local school committees., Committee organizations invdlved, in educt on in Boston ipclpde the'Home and School Associltion (Bostons equivalent of a PTA) and the biracial,Citywide Education Coalition. A leading antibusing organization is Restore Our Alienated Rights. (ROAR), and the leading 'r a ^411 9 3 4 pro-desegregation organiiation is the National Msociation for the A V Advancement of Colotred People (NAACP). Other