Down but Not Out: How School Districts May Utilize Race-Conscious Student Assignments in the Wake of Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

On June 28, 2007, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the race-based public school desegregation programs in Seattle and Jackson County, KY, which resemble hundreds of other such programs across the country, 1 are unconstitutional.The dually decided cases of Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education 2 represent the first decisions by the Supreme Court concerning the "constitutionality of the voluntary use of race to remedy de facto segregation in public education." 3Many view this decision as a clear sign that the Court is firmly controlled by an energized conservative majority 4 and, most importantly, the death knell of desegregation. 5 While the Parents Involved decision firmly excludes any consideration of race to combat de facto segregation in public schools, Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion suggests the practical limitations of this decision and offers school districts guidance on how to enact constitutionally valid race-conscious