White flight and Hispanic schools

Some Nebraska politicians want to force white parents to send their children to public schools that have large numbers of Hispanic students:

The situation in Lexington and elsewhere in Nebraska has caught the attention of the state Legislature, which is considering a bill to thwart what some say amounts to de facto segregation in the schools.

The proposal would force the outlying elementary-only schools to merge with larger kindergarten-through-12th-grade districts. That could mean the closing of the smaller schools.

Beginning in the 1960s, white flight to the suburbs left many big-city school systems across the country predominantly black. But what is happening in Nebraska is a different phenomenon: The white families are staying put, but they are sending their kids to school outside town.

This is possible because Nebraska, unlike many other states and communities, does not require students to attend the schools in the district in which they live.

As a result, in Lexington, the in-town schools, with an enrollment of 2,500, have 804 students learning English as a second language, and 1,172 who are getting a free or reduced-price lunch. The six outlying elementary schools have about 130 students — none of them learning English as a second language and none of them living in poverty, according to the state Education Department.

The situation is similar in and around the small town of Schuyler, which also has seen an influx of Hispanics in recent years. There are 250 students there who are learning to speak English. None of them attends the outlying schools. Of 325 students living in poverty, all but 18 go to school in town.

When are liberals going to finally accept that forced integration doesn't work?

Around the Blogosphere:

Letting parents choose, but only if they make the right choice

Will Nebraska Coerce Bad Education?

What should we do about this?

What Do Liberals Fear The Most: Legal Segregation?

Can't the Left be consistent?

Class I schools and "White Flight"