Brief Explanation:

The District shall supervise classrooms and school facilities so as to maximize integration

within each school. The District shall make checks of ethnic classroom enrollment as early

in each semester as possible, having due regard for fluctuations in class enrollment in the

early weeks of the semester.

In order to comply with the court order, data showing the fall classroom racial/ethnic balance has been compiled. A balanced classroom is one that falls + or – 20 percent of school’s racial/ethnic balance. To reduce paper work to schools and comply with the court order, the following process has been developed to report classes that do not meet the above definition of balance.

The first semester data is attached. Under separate cover you will receive a copy of Classes Needing Attention to Achieve Racial Balance. Each principal should review the data and determine which of the classes listed have a justifiable reason (Attachment 1) and those that do not. All classes listed on Classes Needing Attention to Achieve Racial Balance were out of balance when the data was prepared. School staff should work to reduce the number of classes without justifiable reasons for second semester. Do not move students or reorganize, adjustments should be made through attrition and second semester changes. The first semester data is for information only: it should NOT be returned.

The second semester data will be run during the week of February 7, 2000. It will be sent out to schools shortly thereafter. You will be required to complete and submit the second semester data.

Two items are attached:

1. Attachment 1 - Justifiable Explanation for Classes Out of Racial/Ethnic Balance

A listing of justifiable explanations for homogeneous grouping of students.

2. Attachment 2 - Board of Education Policy

An explanation of the Board of Education policy on racial/ethnic balance in classes is included for your information.

Under separate cover, you will receive Classes Needing Attention to Achieve Racial Balance. This lists all the classes (by room number for elementary and by teacher for secondary) that fall out of racial/ethnic balance + or − 20 percent of the school’s racial/ethnic balance. Secondary sites refer to the "Total for period" line when students have different course numbers during the same period.

The "majority deviation" column is the deviation of the percent White from the + or − 20
percent range. A positive number indicates that White students are over-represented while a
negative number indicates that White students are underrepresented.

If your copy of Classes Needing Attention to Achieve Racial Balance has no classes listed, all classes at your site are balanced and nothing further needs to be done.