Abstract
The purpose of this research was to determine the extent to which a large school district in southern Florida had re-segregated and whether the implementation of a race-conscious student assignment plan could increase student diversity and meet the constitutional parameters articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court. I employed a research design comprised of two quantitative analyses to measure the extent of re-segregation and the impact of a race-conscious student assignment plan and a qualitative directed content analysis to see if the proposed plan was legally feasible. The first strand of quantitative analysis indicated that the large school district had re-segregated since being granted “Unitary Status” in AY 1998-99, both in the evenness and exposure of the student populations. The second strand of quantitative analysis demonstrated support for a lottery mechanism in the student assignment plan that weighted race and socioeconomic criteria by geographic area to improve student diversity. The directed content analysis findings provided legal support for the use of a race in conjunction with other criteria by school leaders looking to voluntarily address re-segregation and student demographic isolation. The report also includes analysis of the implications of the study and recommendations for future research..
Keywords: Race-conscious student assignment plans, Re-segregation, “Unitary” status
