Adams v. Weinberger

391 F. Supp. 269, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13359
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 14, 1975
DocketCiv. A. 3095-70
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 391 F. Supp. 269 (Adams v. Weinberger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams v. Weinberger, 391 F. Supp. 269, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13359 (D.D.C. 1975).

Opinion

SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER

JOHN H. PRATT, District Judge.

This cause came before this Court upon plaintiffs’ Motion for Further Relief and the Opposition of the defendants thereto. After a review of the en *271 tire record, the Court inclines to the belief that substantial progress has been made in this difficult and complex area. On the other hand, without deprecating the value of voluntary settlement of these problems, there appears to be an over-reliance by HEW on the use of voluntary negotiations over protracted time periods and a “reluctance in recent years to use the administrative sanction process where school districts are known to be in non-compliance * * * ” Report of United States Commission on Civil Rights, January 22, 1975, page 131, n. 1. Having considered the motion and opposition and the record before it, this Court enters the following findings and remedial provisions.

A. 125 Substantial Racial Disproportion Districts.

As this Court found in its February 16, 1973 Order, 1 the Supreme Court in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971) enunciated “a presumption against schools that are substantially disproportionate in their racial composition.” In Appendix B of that February 16, 1973 Order, the Court listed 85 southern school districts having one or more schools substantially disproportionate in their composition (because at least a 20% disproportion existed between the percentage of local minority pupils in the schools and the percentage in the entire school district). HEW not having required any of these 85 school districts to explain or rebut the substantial racial disproportions in the schools, this Court enjoined HEW to communicate with each of the districts within 60 days, putting them on notice to rebut or explain the disproportions in one or more of their schools. HEW took appropriate action pursuant to this Order and substantial compliance progress resulted therefrom. However, the record now reveals an additional 125 southern “HEW school districts” with one or more schools substantially disproportionate in their racial composition (see Attachment A), where HEW has not sought an explanation or rebuttal from the school district.

WHEREFORE, in supplementation of ff III B(l) of this Court’s Order of February 16, 1973, defendants, their successors, agents and employees are required and enjoined within 60 days of the date of this Order to communicate with each of the 125 districts listed in Attachment A, putting them on notice to rebut or explain the substantial racial disproportion in one or more of the districts’ schools.

B. 293 Districts With Allegations of Miscellaneous Violations.

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Further Relief alleges that there are 293 additional districts where HEW has found presumptive Title VI violations. The deposition and affidavit of Dr. Lloyd R. Henderson, indicate however that the statistical data 2 on which this allegation is based demonstrate possible Title VI problems and not presumptive violations. We accept ,for the present HEW’s assertion that one of the purposes of the Enforcement Analysis Tables compiled on a nationwide basis was to provide an indication of those districts which might be likely candidates for Title VI compliance activity and to aid in the determination of priorities.

WHEREFORE, plaintiffs’ request for further relief in this area is denied at this time.

C. 6 ESAA Districts.

With respect to 116 elementary and secondary school districts, where HEW had found probable violations of Title VI, this Court’s February 16, 1973 Order held that the time permitted by Title VI for securing voluntary compliance before commencing enforcement *272 proceedings had long since passed (fifi II A(5); 111(A)(7)). HEW had found the districts in violation or presumptive violation of Title VI and had failed during substantial periods of time to achieve voluntary compliance. Accordingly, the Court ordered HEW within 60 days to commence enforcement proceedings by administrative notice of hearing or any other means authorized by law against each of the districts in order to effect compliance with Title VI. In the spring of 1973, HEW declared 17 HEW districts in the south ineligible for funding under the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972 because of substantial civil rights violations. Nine districts were the subject of HEW enforcement activity pursuant to specific directives of this Court's February 16, 1973 Order. Since the filing of the present Motion for Further Relief, Orangeburg, South Carolina has been found eligible for ESAA funding and Charles County, Maryland, has submitted a student assignment plan acceptable to HEW. In the remaining 6 districts, however, HEW has made no efforts to effectuate compliance with Title VI after indication of substantial civil rights violations.

WHEREFORE, in supplementation of fifi II B(l) and III B(2) of this Court’s Order of February 16, 1973, defendants, their successors, agents and employees, are required and enjoined within 60 days of the date of the Supplemental Order to commence enforcement proceedings by administrative notice of hearing or any other means authorized by law against each of the school districts identified in Attachment B, in order to effect compliance with Title VI.

D. 39 Unresolved Swann Districts.

In its February 16, 1973 Order, this Court found 85 school districts presumptively in violation of Swann and Title VI because they had one or more schools substantially disproportionate in their racial composition. This Court ordered defendants to communicate with each of these districts promptly, putting them on notice to rebut or explain the substantial racial disproportions (fi III B(l)). HEW has done so. Thirty-one of these districts have since been found in compliance by HEW, and 15 others are in litigation or under court order. Thirty-nine 3 of the districts remain unresolved more than 25 months after the issuance of this Court’s Order, but HEW has not initiated enforcement proceedings against any of them. The time for securing compliance by merely voluntary means in these districts has passed.

WHEREFORE, defendants, their successors, agents and employees, are required and enjoined within 60 days from the date of this Order to commence enforcement proceedings by administrative notice of hearing or any other means authorized by law, in order to effect compliance with Title VI by each of the school districts identified in Attachment C.

E. Hundreds of School Districts Subject to Court Desegregation Orders.

This Court’s Order of February 16, 1973 (fiV B(2)) required HEW to bring its findings of court order violations to the attention of the court concerned.

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391 F. Supp. 269, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13359, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-v-weinberger-dcd-1975.