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Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 Case Brief
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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis
tl;dr: The Supreme Court struck down voluntary public school assignment plans in Seattle and Louisville that used individual students’ race to maintain racial diversity, finding the plans violated the Equal Protection Clause.
Legal Significance: This case significantly limited the ability of K-12 public schools to use individual racial classifications to achieve diversity, holding that racial balancing is not a compelling government interest and distinguishing the K-12 context from higher education.
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 Law School Study Guide
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Case Facts & Court Holding
Key Facts & Case Background
This case consolidated challenges to voluntary student assignment plans in Seattle, Washington, and Jefferson County, Kentucky. Both school districts used individual racial classifications to achieve or maintain racial diversity in their schools. Seattle, which had never been subject to court-ordered desegregation, used a ‘white/nonwhite’ racial tiebreaker for admission to oversubscribed high schools to keep enrollment within a specified percentage range of the district’s overall demographics. Jefferson County, which had previously been under a desegregation decree but was declared ‘unitary’ in 2000, adopted a plan requiring all nonmagnet schools to maintain a black student enrollment between 15% and 50%. In both districts, students were denied assignment to their preferred schools solely because of their race. A parent group in Seattle and a parent in Jefferson County filed suits, alleging the plans violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The respective Courts of Appeals upheld the plans, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Court Holding & Legal Precedent
Issue: Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permit a public school district to use an individual student’s race as a determinative factor in school assignments to achieve racial diversity and avoid racial isolation, absent a need to remedy past intentional segregation?
No. The Court held that the school districts’ use of individual racial Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatu
IRAC Legal Analysis
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IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) is the exact format professors want to see in your exam answers. Our exclusive Flash-to-Full briefs combine holding, analysis, and rule statements formatted to match what A+ students produce in exams. These structured briefs help reinforce the essential legal reasoning patterns expected in law school.
Legal Issue
Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permit a public school district to use an individual student’s race as a determinative factor in school assignments to achieve racial diversity and avoid racial isolation, absent a need to remedy past intentional segregation?
Conclusion
The decision establishes that racial balancing is not a compelling state interest Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad min
Legal Rule
All governmental racial classifications must be analyzed under strict scrutiny, meaning they Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis no
Legal Analysis
Applying strict scrutiny, the Court first examined whether the districts asserted a Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi
Flash-to-Full Case Opinions
Flash Summary
- Voluntary school assignment plans that use individual racial classifications to achieve
