High school district policy ruled unconstitutional

Paul Clinton

A panel of state appellate court judges struck down an

anti-segregation policy in place at Huntington Beach high declaring it

unconstitutional.

The district had been denying the applications of white students who

wanted to transfer out of certain high schools in the district in order

to preserve what they said was ethnic balance.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal, on Friday, ruled that the policy

violated Proposition 209, the 1996 statewide initiative that banned

consideration of race in the “operation of public education” in school

districts.

“Huntington Beach is thumbing its nose at the voters of California,”

said Sharon Browne, the attorney handling the case against the district.

“The policy was wrong. No high school should be allowed to decide who

attends it.”

The appellate court sided with a Fountain Valley parent who sued the

Huntington Beach Union School District in 1999 to overturn the policy.

Bruce Crawford sued the district in 1999 after his white son was

denied a request for transfer out of Ocean View High School, which is

primarily Latino.

Browne took up Crawford’s case. She is one of the principle attorneys

with Pacific Legal Foundation, a public-interest firm.

School administrators introduced the policy in 1993 for transfers from

certain schools. Westminster High School was singled out in a 1999

revision, in which board members defended the policy as a way to stave

off segregation.

Board trustee Michael Simons, on Monday, said the district was caught

in a bind because a section of state law allows for the “racial

balancing” practice.

“We didn’t think it was clear,” Simons said. “We were confused.”

State law does allow for racial balancing, Browne acknowledged, but

only on a voluntary basis.

In the 14-page ruling released Friday, the appeals panel agreed with

Browne.

“We do not dispute the evils of segregated schools and we recognize

the potential of attending a racially and ethnically diverse school, but

the people have spoken,” the ruling said.

A lower court had sided with the district.

Board member Michael Harper has been the board’s sole opponent of the

policy. Harper cast the lone dissenting vote during the board’s April

1999 decision to retain the policy.

In a written statement released Saturday, Harper said he would not

comment directly on the case until board members decide whether to

appeal.

“Matthew Harper’s opinion on the racial quota system that limits some

intradistrict transfers . . . is on the public record,” Harper said in

the statement.

White students who wanted to leave Westminster High had to be on a

district waiting list until a white student from another school agreed to

switch places.

The same policy was applied to nonwhite students, the ruling said.

As of April 18, more than 79% of the requests for transfer out of

Westminster were from nonwhite students. Only 59 out of the 285 requests

were from white students, according to an internal district memo.