New JCPS busing plan is a Civil Rights Act violation. We have questions.
The most glaring consequence of the transportation plan proposed by JCPS may be the violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. We understand the disproportionate ways poverty impacts our community, so we can predict who will have access to what, if this plan is actually implemented. Whatever the articulated reason, the impact is clear and the true intent in question.
And speaking of questions, we believe answers to the following questions are crucial in order to understand the intended and unintended consequences of the changes to our public school transportation plan. Especially since these changes were made under the cover of night in a special school board meeting called with only 24 hour notice to stakeholders and no desire to hear from the public. It is deeply concerning that the board attempted to rush the transportation vote without releasing or responding to the report of their own audit committee. It was their midnight maneuvering that caused law abiding citizens to stand up and speak in a meeting intended to surprise, silence and suspend. If we lose this battle the war ahead will be consequential.
JCPS paid for a transportation audit. Then they ignored the results and failed 20,000 students.
Here's what Louisville families need to know:
What will be the impact on resides schools? We have many schools, across all grade levels, with student enrollments far above their projected capacity. What will happen if these schools get an influx of students who can no longer attend magnets? Are the schools guaranteed to receive the funding, staffing, and resources needed to successfully manage those students?
Will JCPS be able to sustain magnets if the change in transportation leads to under-enrollment?
Is the district prepared to make adjustments at current magnet schools to add a resides boundary to address enrollment concerns?
Have working families been informed of plans to change start times?
Has JCPS communicated potential enrollment shifts to families with students enrolled at magnets or Academies of Louisville?
Will student transfer options be available or is that now a false promise due to a lack of availability?
Before passage, did JCPS request feedback on the proposed transportation plan from student families? How about community organizations? If so, by what medium? Which community organizations? What consideration was given to any of the feedback?
Is the small subset of Choice Zone schools prepared to handle an influx of additional students should students have to leave magnet schools? The district made a commitment in the new School Choice plan to provide a smaller class size (20:1). Is there any way that will be implemented?
How is the district going to ensure that high school students enrolled in career pathway programs are able to complete their pathway if they are no longer able to provide transportation to their current school and their reside school does not offer their particular pathway?
Will families that have lost transportation to their current magnet school have the option of attending a different magnet, if they are able to provide their own transportation?
How will we measure the real impact this proposal will have on students should they have to change schools? Relationships? Sports? These are the students who have already lived through a pandemic. Have their voices been considered?
Will athletes be allowed a spot on the team in the school to which they may need to transfer? Will waivers be needed?
White supremacy in action: This special school board meeting is bigger than busing.
JCPS and TARC leaders must be open to improvement
As the District works diligently to collect the data necessary to answer those questions, we urge the Mayor and Governor to convene UPS, TARC and JCPS. We want a plan that UPS has fully engaged in creating because we have seen their logistics work. We rely on them to move packages across the city and the world. They have established their community trust and we believe them to be a good corporate citizen.
To be clear, we do not support a convening without UPS or some other uninterested logistics expert. We also do not just want a representative from that company. We are requesting the time and talent of their best and brightest logistics experts. We also want JCPS and TARC leaders to be open to improvement because by any measure, our current state is not satisfactory.
We acknowledge the challenges being faced by TARC leadership. However, those challenges don’t make that entity and its workforce less important to our community. TARC is an important partner because we know there are students who currently rely on public transportation to get them to school and we know there are a lot of drivers concerned about their futures. Thus, we want the partners to explore any opportunities for TARC to adjust routes in ways that might support families.
We ask that the trio work together through the end of June with a 30 day update on their progress to the Mayor, Governor and a representative from the undersigned. We want TARC and JCPS to bring all of their assets to the table, including their organizational technology systems, vans, buses, drivers and grant writers. We do not want to be muddied in a fight with any union and want to be clear that we are not suggesting that TARC drivers be transferred to JCPS. We are proposing a partnership that benefits our community and that includes the employees in both entities.
Louisville deserves a better transportation plan
There is no Cosmopolitan city without a decent public transportation plan. Louisville deserves better. Let’s not waste this crisis. We want creativity that shows we value education and we care about advancing our city beyond the expectations of our legislative leaders. The corporations we work to recruit and retain may want laborers but they simultaneously value an educated populace. We must be committed to doing our part.
Let’s pause the plan until district leaders understand and adjust for the unintended consequences. We know change is inevitable but we have too much at stake for these decisions not to be fully informed. In the April 16 board meeting, board member Kolb told us to, “get grounded.” Implementing this ill-informed plan feels like grounding the opportunities our students will have to compete in a global world. Let’s pause the plan and find creative ways to do what we know is right for our children and the future of our city. We are better than this.
Alice Houston, Audwin Helton, Dana Jackson, F. Bruce Williams, Sadiqa N. Reynolds, Raoul Cunningham, President NAACP, Raymond M. Burse, 1st Vice President NAACP, Lyndon E. Pryor, CEO Louisville Urban League
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pause the JCPS busing plan and adjust for the unintended consequences.
