The Decision
In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that "[w]ith no showing of significant violation by the 53 outlying school districts and no evidence of any interdistrict violation or effect," the district court's remedy was "wholly impermissible" and not justified by Brown v. Board of Education. The Court noted that desegregation, "in the sense of dismantling a dual school system," did not require "any particular racial balance in each 'school, grade or classroom.'" The Court also emphasized the importance of local control over the operation of schools.
This decision exempted suburban districts from assisting in desegregating inner-city schools. This decision reinforced the existing trend of “white-flight” from cities to suburburban school districts.
The dissenting opinion held that:
"The decision basically states that there is no violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The schools are segregated by race and not only separate but also not equal. The African-American schools are in fact inferior. Since Michigan creates Black school districts and white school districts and then does not provide equal schools for the areas they themselves created, they are in violation of the Equal Protection Act. "
