Social Science Research Institute, December 06, 2017
When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th circuit hears the case of Stout v. Jefferson next week, it will be deciding more than the fate of one small community in Jefferson County, Alabama. The court's ruling, which likely will be the definitive opinion in this case, could set precedent for other cases in the three southern states comprising the 11th circuit.
A recent national study illustrated the rising number of district secessions, in which typically homogeneous white communities seek to leave larger, more diverse school districts. "The case of Jefferson County is a complex one for a variety of reasons," said Erica Frankenberg, associate professor of education (educational leadership) and demography, and co-founder and director of the Center for Education and Civil Rights in the Penn State College of Education.
"The case stems from the town of Gardendale, which is 88 percent white, attempting to secede from Jefferson County, in which whites are now less than 50 percent of students, in part due to earlier community secessions from the countywide district. If Gardendale is able to create its own school district, it would make desegregation more difficult in the county."