Some Reactions to the Decision

Joseph L. Rauh Jr., civil rights lawyer and longtime advocate of busing: "We're in a period of retreat on school integration, and this is the first major advance. It's a lighthouse for those who still feel they want more integration instead of less. It says you can't just leave all white in one place and all black in another."

William L. Taylor (no relation to the Dallas judge), director of the Center for National Policy Review, a public interest law group that specializes in civil rights: "Some people thought the law was changing, but this decision is an indication that there are still legal requirements. That doesn't mean that you can't have magnet schools and improve the educational offering. What it means is that you can't use the magnet schools as a substitute for true desegregation."

Joseph Hannon, Chicago school superintendent: "We feel magnet schools are effective. Just because the courts find a problem with one desegregation program, the rubric doesn't have to be placed on every other plan. Uniquely each city has to develop its plan based on its needs."

Thomas F. Pettigrew, Harvard sociology professor: "The Dallas plan was a joke. Boston set out to desegregate its schools. Dallas set out to attempt to avoid desegregating its schools."

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