BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For decades, some of Alabama’s school desegregation cases have remained legally open but largely out of public view, sitting on inactive federal court dockets long after judges found that the districts were no longer operating separate school systems for Black and white students.
In recent months, courts have begun to tackle that unfinished legal business.
Federal judges have ended desegregation cases involving three Alabama school systems since July, while motions seeking to end federal oversight are pending for eight more, an Alabama Daily News review of federal court filings found.
Judges declared Tuscumbia City Schools unitary on July 7, St. Clair County Schools unitary on July 17 and Tarrant City Schools unitary on Aug. 17, formally ending federal supervision of those districts.
The affected school districts and the U.S. Department of Justice have jointly filed motions over the past month seeking to dissolve desegregation orders and dismiss cases involving Athens City, Russellville City and Cleburne, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Marion and Morgan county schools.
A hearing on Russellville City Schools’ motion is scheduled for Oct. 7 in Tuscaloosa.
READ MORE: Why Alabama still has dozens of school desegregation cases – and why some want to end them
To understand why these cases remain open nearly 60 years after being issued, it helps to look back at Alabama’s resistance to integrating its public schools.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that state-enforced racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. But Alabama and other Southern states resisted and delayed integrating public schools long after the ruling.
All of the current cases under review trace back to 1967, when federal judges expanded the Lee v. Macon County Board of Education case statewide, bringing more than 100 Alabama school systems under federal court supervision.
Within a decade of that expansion, those districts made a lot of progress.
In the mid-1970s, federal judges entered orders finding that many of those districts were operating “unitary” school systems, meaning they no longer formally maintained separate systems for Black and white students. But those orders did not necessarily declare the districts to have achieved “unitary status,” the final legal determination that ends federal supervision.
Instead, many of the cases were moved to inactive dockets – set aside without being formally dismissed and left technically open for another half-century.
Much of the recent activity involves those decades-old cases. The new filings cite the earlier findings along with more recent enrollment, staffing and operational information to argue that the districts have fulfilled their obligations and no longer require federal supervision.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office is participating in seven of the eight pending cases.
Deputy Attorney General Katherine Robertson, the Republican nominee for attorney general, previously told ADN that many of the remaining orders have outlived their purpose.
Yeah, we will! 🇺🇸 @AAGDhillon and her team are fantastic partners! https://t.co/Y9DDtETtoH
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She said state officials could work with districts and the Justice Department to end those orders.
That appears to be what’s happening.
Tuscumbia City Superintendent Russ Tate said his district had been seeking dismissal of its desegregation case for years, long before he became superintendent.
Tate said Tuscumbia’s grade-band structure means all students in each grade attend the same school, regardless of where they live. The district operates four schools serving prekindergarten through 12th grade.
Tate expects the dismissal to reduce the district’s reporting requirements but will not change how it serves students, he said.
“We believe that we serve all students in the City of Tuscumbia and it is our job to do what is right by all students,” Tate said in a written response to ADN.
Tarrant City Schools operates under a similar grade-band structure. Tarrant City Superintendent Sherlene McDonald told ADN that the district’s path to unitary status in August included a Justice Department review that began in 2019 and a visit to its schools in 2022. Federal officials also reviewed records and conducted interviews before concluding that Tarrant City had met its obligations required by the order.
“The transition to unitary status represents an important milestone in the history of Tarrant City Schools,” McDonald said in a written response.
Ending the order removes the federal oversight attached specifically to the desegregation case but does not change the district’s obligations under other state and federal civil rights laws, she added.
“Our commitment to equity, access, student support, and academic achievement does not end with the dismissal of the order,” McDonald said. “Those commitments remain fundamental to the work of Tarrant City Schools.”
Fayette County Superintendent Jim Burkhalter also said the Justice Department contacted his district and initiated the current process.
“The Department of Justice contacted us and believes that we should not be under oversight based on an old court order that showed we are already unitary,” Burkhalter said in a written statement to ADN.
“The Fayette County Board of Education recognizes the historical significance of this case and the important role desegregation has played in public education,” Burkhalter said. A joint motion to dissolve the order has been filed but awaits action.
Burkhalter said lifting the order would formally end federal court oversight but would not change day-to-day school operations.
“Regardless of the court’s decision, Fayette County Schools will remain committed to providing a safe, supportive, and equitable learning environment for every student,” he said. “Our responsibility to the children and families of Fayette County will continue long after this case is resolved.”
While the recent cases have moved quickly, the broader process is not unprecedented.
Federal courts closed 49 Alabama school desegregation cases between 2002 and 2008. An earlier round of activity began in 1997, when, according to a Justice Department account, a federal judge brought 12 inactive Alabama cases back before the court and directed the parties to work toward unitary status.
The 11 districts with recent court action represent more than a quarter of the 39 Alabama districts identified on a 2024 Justice Department list of desegregation cases. Another 12 have had regular court activity in recent years.
The remaining 16 are listed as open, but ADN could not identify modern case numbers for them in federal electronic court records. Some may be archived or contained within the sprawling statewide Lee v. Macon litigation. Whether those cases will also return to court remains unclear.