Davis v. Franks

Filing 207

ORDER granting 201 Motion to Approve Implementation of a Magnet School Program. Signed by Honorable Susan O. Hickey on September 13, 2022.(mll)

Case 4:88-cv-04082-SOH Document 207

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
TEXARKANA DIVISION
ROSIE L. DAVIS, et al.
v.

PLAINTIFFS
Case No. 4:88-cv-4082

WILLIAM DALE FRANKS, et al.

DEFENDANTS
ORDER

Before the Court is the Motion for Approval of Magnet School Program filed by the Hope
School District Defendants. ECF No. 201. Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Extension of Time on
September 2, 2022. ECF No. 203. On September 9, 2022, the parties filed a Joint Motion for
Approval of Agreed Order Regarding HSD’s Magnet School Program. The Court finds the matter
ripe for consideration.
Based on the motion and supporting brief of Defendants (ECF Nos. 201, 202), the motion
for extension filed by Plaintiffs (ECF No. 203), the motion for approval submitted jointly by both
parties (ECF No. 204), and other matters properly before the Court, the Court finds and concludes
as follows:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1.

Hope School District (“HSD”) is a public school district operating in Hempstead

County, Arkansas. Its 2021-2022 total enrollment was 2,201 students. The 2021-2022 enrollment
was comprised of 971 Black students (44%) and 1,230 non-black students (56%).
2.

HSD has been and is subject to this Court’s supervision pursuant to the consent

decree entered in this case on January 8, 1990 (“1990 Consent Decree”) and other orders and
decrees entered in this case in the ensuing years.

Case 4:88-cv-04082-SOH Document 207

3.

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On April 18, 2022, HSD’s Board of Directors (“Board”) authorized the HSD

Superintendent, Dr. Jonathan Crossley, to begin the process of applying for grant funding through
the United States Department of Education’s Magnet School Assistance Program (“MSAP”) for
the purpose of creating magnet programs within its schools.
4.

HSD’s motion states that HSD’s intention in implementing a magnet school

program is “to provide educational opportunities for the approximately 2,200 kindergarten through
twelfth grade students in Hope, Arkansas, and to bring back students from the private, parochial,
and nearby rural public schools in spite of budgetary constraints.” ECF No. 201, ¶ 2.
5.

HSD’s motion further describes the objectives of the magnet school program as

follows:
(a) reducing and preventing minority group isolation among Black/African
American and/or Hispanic students in the proposed magnet schools;
(b) ensuring that all students attending the magnet schools meet challenging
academic standards and are on track to be college- and career-ready;
(c) ensuring that all students attending the magnet schools benefit from the
magnet’s educational offerings and have equal opportunities to gain magnet
theme-specific value-added skills and knowledge; and
(d) building the capacity within the magnet schools to provide rigorous,
theme- and evidence-based instructional programs that will help promote
choice and diversity in HSD.
ECF No. 201, ¶ 3.
6.

HSD desires approval of this magnet program by this Court in order to qualify for

federal grant funding.

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7.

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Plaintiffs have indicated that they do not object to HSD’s establishment of a magnet

program, so long as they are able to monitor HSD’s implementation of the program for a certain
period of time.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
8.

The Court retains continuing jurisdiction and supervision pursuant to the 1990

Consent Decree.
9.

HSD has not yet been declared unitary, and HSD therefore remains subject to the

provisions of the 1990 Consent Decree.
10.

The Court has considered the Motion for Approval of Magnet School Program.

ECF No. 201. Based on Defendants’ motion, the motion for extension filed by Plaintiffs, and the
motion for approval submitted jointly by both parties, the Court finds that the Motion is consistent
with the Court’s previous orders. The Court further finds that the motion should be and hereby is
GRANTED.
11.

HSD is hereby authorized to proceed with its application for grant funding through

the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), to implement the
magnet program if grant funding is awarded, and to take all other actions necessary, reasonable,
and appropriate to achieve those objectives.
12.

HSD is directed to implement its magnet school program as outlined in the motion,

specifically:
(a)

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, HSD will organize its

five schools serving grades K-12 as magnet schools with the following
themes:

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School
Clinton Primary Elementary School
Beryl Henry Elementary School
Yerger Middle School
Hope Academy of Public Service
Hope High School
(b)

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Theme
STEAM
Arts
STEM
Public Service and Media Literacy
STEAM, Public Service, and Media Literacy

Each student will be allowed to designate the order of his or her

preference of particular magnet schools, and thus their academic focus. All
elementary students will continue to attend Clinton Primary Elementary
School for grades K-4, and all high school students will attend Hope High
School for grades 9-12. HSD will use a random lottery process to select
students for the two middle school pathways, Beryl Henry (grades 5-6) and
Yerger Middle School (grades 7-8) and Hope Academy of Public Service
(grades 5-8), which will take into account the capacity of the school and
thematic strand, sibling preference, rank order of choice, and mother’s level
of education. At the elementary and high school level, the lottery process
will take into account the capacity of the school, sibling preference, and
mother’s level of education.
13.

HSD is further directed to implement the magnet program in a manner that complies

with the 1990 Consent Decree, specifically in that no student will be discriminated based upon
race, and assignments will be made by lottery, in a “desegregated and integrated in fact” manner,
not by “tracking” or “ability grouping.” See 1990 Consent Decree, ¶¶ 3, 13.
14.

HSD is directed to publish the admissions criteria for its magnet programs in clear

language on the HSD website and in a local newspaper at least two weeks prior to the application
deadline for school years 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26.

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15.

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In order to monitor HSD’s compliance with this Order, HSD is directed to submit

periodic reports to Plaintiffs’ counsel regarding its implementation of the magnet program. HSD
shall submit these reports each year for three years, on July 15, 2023, July 15, 2024, and July 2025.
16.

HSD’s annual reports should include the following:
(a)

a description of the progress of the magnet program in reducing

racial isolation of Black students in each of its schools and the Hope
Collegiate Academy.
(b)

a breakdown by race and gender of the students in each magnet

program in each school.
(c)

a breakdown of the number of applications and admissions rates of

students by race and gender.
(d)

for students admitted to the magnet program after transferring to

HSD from a non-HSD school, the report should list the previous school
attended by each student.
17.

Plaintiffs are represented by Shawn Childs, and all reports referenced herein will

be provided to him via e-mail from either the HSD Superintendent or counsel for HSD.
18.

HSD is directed to provide to Mr. Childs by October 15 and February 15 of each

year a breakdown of the number of applications and admissions rates of students by race and
gender for each magnet program for the prior semester, with the first application and admission
report being due February 15, 2024 (summarizing Fall 2023 data) and the last application and
admission report being due October 15, 2026 (summarizing Spring 2026 data).
19.

HSD is further directed to compensate Mr. Childs for his monitoring of HSD’s

implementation of the magnet program at a rate of $275.00 per hour. Mr. Childs will submit

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detailed billing statements to HSD, which shall contain a reasonable description of the task
performed and the time spent in increments of one-tenth of an hour. If Mr. Childs’s monitoring
fees exceed 50 hours ($13,750.00) per school year, HSD and the Plaintiffs agree to first attempt to
resolve any disagreements regarding monitoring fees in excess of 50 hours without court
involvement. However, if HSD and the Plaintiffs cannot reach agreement regarding excess fees,
the Plaintiff may file a motion for attorneys’ fees with the Court.
20.

The Court will maintain continuing jurisdiction over this matter until it finds that

HSD should be fully released from Court supervision.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this 13th day of September, 2022.
/s/ Susan O. Hickey
Susan O. Hickey
Chief United States District Judge

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