United States v. Arkansas Department of Education, No. 19-1340 (8th Cir. 2021)
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After the school districts sought modification of existing desegregation consent decrees to allow their exemption from Arkansas's Public School Choice Act, Ark. Code. Ann. 6–18–1906, the district court granted the motions and modified the consent decrees to explicitly limit the transfer of students between school districts. The Department appealed, alleging that the modification imposed an impermissible interdistrict remedy.
After a panel of the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's modifications, the Department moved for rehearing, at which point the United States—for the first time—involved itself in the case and asked the court to reconsider its opinion. The court accepted the invitation, received supplemental briefing from the parties, and reversed the judgment of the district court.
The court agreed with the Department that the district court abused its discretion by modifying the consent decrees because the 2017 amendments were not a significant change in circumstances supporting modification of the decrees and—even if they were—the district court did not impose a suitably tailored modification. Because no vestige of discrimination traces to interdistrict school transfers, the district court abused its discretion in expanding the consent decrees to prohibit such transfers.
Court Description: [Per Curiam - Before Erickson, Melloy and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Civil case - School Desegregation. Four Arkansas school district sought modification of decades-old desegregation orders so that they could be exempt from newly passed amendments to the Arkansas school choice law. The district court granted the motions and modified the desegregation orders to explicitly limit the transfer of students between school districts; the State appealed the modifications, and this court affirmed; the State sought rehearing and the U.S., participating in the case for the first time, asked the court to reconsider the matter; additional briefing was then permitted. Held: The district court erred in finding that the repeal of Arkansas's 1989 school choice act and the subsequent adoption of the 2017 amendments to a 2015 act significantly changed Arkansas law in a manner allowing for modification of the consent decrees; because no vestige of discrimination traces back to interdistrict school transfers, the district court abused its discretion in expanding the consent decrees to prohibit such transfers. Judge Melloy, dissenting.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on December 31, 2020.
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