Court action raises question about magnet school admissions | The Augusta Chronicle

The lifting of a 40-year-old desegregation order has raised the question of whether changes will have to be made to the admissions process for Richmond County’s magnet schools.

The order permitted those schools to consider race when selecting students, and at least two of Richmond County’s three magnet schools did. Without a desegregation order, the U.S. Department of Education requires race-neutral policies and allows schools to use a student’s race only in addition to other criteria.

Because students for the county’s three magnet schools have already been selected for the 2013-14 year, Superintendent Frank Roberson said he plans to re-examine policies later this year to prepare for the 2014-15 class.

Because the district’s demographics have shifted to majority-black students, Roberson said he does not foresee any problems.

via Court action raises question about magnet school admissions | The Augusta Chronicle.