Escambia County School District Ends Racial Segregation in Student Activities

Escambia County School District Ends Racial Segregation in Student Activities

Escambia County, AL – In a shocking move, the Escambia County School District has agreed to end the use of race-based selection criteria for homecoming courts and other student activities in two of its high schools.

The agreement, reached with the US government, comes after the district was found to be using racial segregation in student elections. Escambia County High School permitted students to elect two homecoming queens and two homecoming attendants, one African-American and one not, while W.S. Neal High School had a similar longstanding practice of using race-based criteria for election of students to its Valentine’s Day courts.

“We commend the Escambia County Board of Education for acting swiftly to abolish the use of race in student activities and to ensure that no student is denied participation in any extracurricular activity based on race,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The use of race-based selection and election criteria in public schools’ extracurricular activities, including homecoming courts, proms and similar activities is prohibited by Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars public school districts, colleges and universities from discriminating against students on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion.

The enforcement of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in school districts is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The district has agreed to fully implement and enforce its new non-discrimination policy, to notify parents and students of changes to student election practices, and to provide compliance reports to the department for at least one year.

“It is time for the once common practice of segregating students by race in school activities to come to an end,” said Thomas E. Perez. “We are committed to ensuring that all students have equal access to extracurricular activities, regardless of their race or background.”

The settlement marks a significant step forward in the fight against racial segregation in public schools. The Escambia County School District has agreed to adopt a district-wide non-discrimination policy for extracurricular activities, which will prohibit the use of race-based election and selection criteria in all student activities.