Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1: The Application of Strict Scrutiny to Race-Conscious Student Assignment Policies in K-12 Public Schools

Abstract

Schools nationwide have used race-conscious student assignment policies to combat the resegregation of K–12 public schools. However, the Court in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 dealt a disheartening blow to school districts concerned about their racial diversity, holding that certain race-conscious student assignment policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court applied strict scrutiny in reaching this conclusion, contrary to the original intent of the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Court’s jurisprudence in desegregation cases. This Note examines the relationship between segregation, desegregation, and resegregation in America’s public schools and the Fourteenth Amendment. This Note argues that the Court erred in analyzing the race-conscious assignment policies under strict scrutiny for two reasons. First, the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend for the Amendment to be “colorblind.” Second, race-conscious assignment policies should be analyzed as an extension of the Court’s desegregation jurisprudence, not as an extension of the Court’s affirmative action jurisprudence.