The Seattle School District operated a school choice program that allowed parents to choose the high school they wanted their children to attend. Because some schools were much more popular than others
were and the school system wanted to make sure that their schools had diverse student bodies, it used
race as one of the tiebreakers when deciding who would get to attend the schools most in demand. In
Parents Imolved in Community Schools v Seattle (2007), the United States Supreme Court found that
the school district was using race in an unconstitutional manner in its assignment plan. The decision
was a 5-4 split on the Court, with both sides claiming that their position was truest to the precedent set
in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
After reading the scenario, respond to A, B and C below
A Identify the clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is most relevant to Brow Board of
Education (1954) and Parents Imohed in Communin Schools Seattle (2007)
B Explain the similarity in the facts between Brown Board of Education and Parents volved in
Community Schools v. Seattle that led to similar holdings in both cases,
C Justices on the Supreme Court take seriously their duty to interpret laws and the Constution as
fairly and accurately as possible Despite this explain how sharp disagreements can occur on the
Supreme Court about how race can be used in school assignment plans