Dowell v. Board of Ed. of Oklahoma City Public Schools

Background

In this case, the District Court approved the Oklahoma City School Board’s plan to change school attendance boundaries effective September 2, 1969, and ordered the Board to file a full city-wide desegregation plan by November 1, 1969. Intervenors called the "McWilliams Class" appealed the part of the order allowing immediate boundary changes and asked for a stay. The Court of Appeals instead vacated the District Court’s approval on August 27, 1969, saying the boundary proposal should wait until a comprehensive plan was adopted.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court granted review and said the Court of Appeals was wrong to cancel the District Court’s action. The Court explained that a school board must move quickly to end an unconstitutional segregated system, and that limited measures ordered by a trial court can be put into effect while appeals proceed. Because the District Court had already ordered the boundary changes and the intervenors did not contest their scope, the Court held the changes could go forward pending appeal and sent the case back for prompt handling of the appeals.

Real world impact

Practically, the ruling let the new attendance boundaries be used at the start of the school year, affecting where students attend school and how the district carries out desegregation. The Court directed the lower courts to decide remaining appeals quickly, and noted the broader issue of a full city-wide plan would still be addressed. The decision is not the final word on merits and future appeals or orders could alter these steps.