Judge nixes reopening Lynn school race case

LYNN – A federal judge has refused to reopen a lawsuit by parents challenging the city of Lynn’s use of race in assigning students who have requested transfers to schools outside of their neighborhood district.U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner said the case should not be reopened, upholding a decision made by the Supreme Court two summers ago.Gertner says the law only allows cases to be reopened in narrow circumstances, which do not apply in this case, but she did say parents could file a new lawsuit challenging the current program if they wish.The decision is just the latest victory for the School Department, which has been fighting the lawsuit since 1999 when the parents of six students who were denied transfers to out-of-neighborhood schools because of race filed suit against the department claiming that the policy violated federal law.The most recent decision prior to Wednesday’s rejection was a similar ruling by the Supreme Court in July of 2006 in which the same group of parents had requested that the court review their rejection of an appeal from the previous year.The case has attracted national attention because it was the first challenge of a voluntary desegregation plan to go to trial, although cases from Kansas and Washington have since come before the Supreme Court.The city’s desegregation plan is in line with the state’s voluntary racial imbalance law in place in 22 other communities in the state, which asks districts to desegregate schools with a minority population of over 50 percent.According to Lynn’s plan, all students are allowed a spot in their designated neighborhood school regardless of race, but if that students were to apply for a transfer to another school in the city, they could be turned down based on the color of their skin.Supporters have argued that if the plan was thrown out, Lynn’s schools would quickly become segregated. The district has 15,000 students, 62 percent of which are minorities.Parents who challenged the system argued that factors beyond race should be considered, such as socio-economic status, family structure and language spoken at home.Superintendent Nicholas Kostan learned of the department’s victory late Wednesday afternoon, but declined comment until Thursday until he could review the specifics more closely.