Federal Judge Makes Ruling In Little Rock Desegregation Case

A federal judge has rejected arguments the Little Rock School District made in hope of being totally released from court supervision. U-S District Judge William Wilson`s decision means the last remaining provision of a decades-old desegregation order stays in effect. He made the ruling today after almost two days of testimony that district officials didn`t fully evaluate and write reports on programs designed to help black students. Before testimony began, Wilson warned the district that it might have a hard time proving its case. The district was released in 2002 from all aspects of the federal desegregation order, except one concerning program evaluations. Interveners in the case are challenging the school district`s efforts to be released entirely from the order. Earlier today, lawyer Robert Pressman, who is arguing to keep the district under the order, criticized the evaluation reports, citing a consultant`s assessment that said the evaluation lacked enough data. Pressman said the data turned in to the court only included test scores and should have shown other details, including how the program was run and how teachers were allocated.