A Judge Has Approved The Desegregation Plan For St. Martin Parish

The attendance zone modifications that were put forth by the St. Martin Parish School System have been approved by a U.S. District Judge according to KATC.

Pamela Dill, an attorney for the St. Martin Parish School system is quoted as saying,

"Last night, Judge Foote approved a version of the Consent Order that included minor revision to the implementing provisions but did not change the attendance zone modifications which formed the foundation of the plan.  Per the Consent Order, the District will provide notice of the changes to be implemented for the 2016-2017 school year to all parents in approximately two weeks from the entry of the order."

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote listened to hours of testimony this week before deciding to send St. Martin Parish officials back for more revisions and corrections.

The desegreation lawsuit has gone on for decades, and the school system has been working to receive was is called "Unitary Status", which is to prove they have been able to eliminate racial discrimination in several areas including:

• Staff assignment
• Transportation
• Facilities
• Faculty assignment
• Extracurricular activities
• Student assignment

The biggest sticking point has always dealt with student assignment.