The troubled Kansas City School District is released from a federal court order dealing with desegregation. A federal judge has ended the 26-year-old desegregation case against the District. Judge Dean Whipple says the school district has sufficiently closed the portion of the achievement gap between black and white children that stems from the vestiges of segregation. He adds it is unlikely there will be discrimination against African-American children in the future – meaning the school district is now in compliance with the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Whipple says the end of court supervision will allow the superintendent to make everyday decisions without being required to consult lawyers. The desegregation case was filed in 1977. Judge Whipple ordered an end to court control over the district in November of 1999, but an appeals court ordered the judge to hold a hearing on whether the district can do anything to remove any lingering damage caused by segregation. That has done, though the issue remains unresolved. Today, the judge ended the case.
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