Court’s Supervision of Little Rock Schools Ends

A judge ended more than 40 years of court-supervised desegregation in Little Rock’s schools, closing a chapter in a battle over integration that began in the 1950s.

U.S. District Judge William Wilson’s ruling came in response to Little Rock’s claims that it has met the terms of a 1998 desegregation plan to improve the performance of minority students.

A group representing black students sued the state’s largest district in 1982, alleging that it discriminated against minorities by failing to give them a quality education.

The lawsuit prompted the court to continue desegregation monitoring that began in 1956.

Wilson said he will still monitor the district’s efforts to improve the performance of black students, saying it hadn’t proved it was effectively tracking those students.