South Bend schools have been under a federal court desegregation order since 1981, aimed at ensuring students have equal opportunities. The school board says it is now taking steps to better understand how the agreement affects students, particularly around discipline.
Board President Jeanette McCullough outlined the plan at a recent board meeting.
“The board will be formulating a committee to review and report on the data presented to the court supervising the consent decree. That would be a report on the makeup of this committee and the methodology to be used during our academic focus at our January meeting,” McCullough said.
Board attorney Pete Agostino told WVPE via text that the committee will take a closer look at the data to understand why discipline is not proportional across races and to guide effective responses.
A federal desegregation order, or consent decree, is a court agreement that ensures students are treated equally, including how schools assign students and handle discipline. South Bend is the only district in Indiana still operating under such an order.
The board says it will provide more details on the committee’s membership and methodology at its Jan. 12 meeting.
