Trump administration's effort to end 1960s school desegregation cases faces a hurdle

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 4:49 PM EST, November 26, 2025


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s effort to overturn decades-old school desegregation orders is facing pushback from a federal judge in Louisiana.

After the judge refused to close the books on a desegregation case dating back to the 1960s, the Concordia Parish school system in central Louisiana and the state on Tuesday filed an appeal. The case offers the first major test of the government’s attempt to quickly end some of the long-running cases.

The school system has become a focal point in the administration’s attempt to end legal cases that reach back to the Civil Rights era. Louisiana state officials say the cases are outdated and no longer needed. In a remarkable turn, they’ve recently gained support from the U.S. Justice Department, which spent decades fighting for such cases.

The campaign encountered its first major obstacle this month when U.S. District Judge Dee Drell rejected a court filing from Louisiana and the Justice Department aiming to free Concordia from a 1965 lawsuit. That case was brought by Black families who demanded access to the town’s all-white schools. A number of legal requirements from the case remain in place today, and some families say the court orders are still needed to improve education at the area’s mostly Black schools.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/desegregation-school-louisiana-concordia-789b083a875ddfe21e36e5eec4127bfb