Here comes the judge
State and local governments are paying close attention to several cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide in its current term, which began in October. For example, the court will decide if race should be a major factor in school assignments, which could affect districts’ current policies, officials say.
The case stems from two lower court challenges in Seattle and Louisville/Jefferson County school districts. In both cases, students did not receive their first school choice because those schools had met requirements for certain races. The Supreme Court now will hear arguments in both cases together, deciding if diversity in schools is a compelling state interest and if local governments should determine school policies.
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson says that race is only one factor used in making assignments. The policy “has created a very diverse school system, [which is] good for the overall economy and growth of the community,” he says. If the court decides the policy is unconstitutional, “there would be schools that are overwhelmingly African American and/or poor Caucasian. Students would be congregated into atmospheres with all kids from their socioeconomic status, rather than engaging with kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds,” he says. Jacqueline Byers, the National Association of Counties’ director of research, says the decision will affect a school’s reputation and ultimately home sales. “A lot of people buy houses based on the schools in that county, so it’s important for the counties’ schools to be desirable,” she says.
The court also will be deciding the latest challenge to flow control laws, which require solid waste to be sent to specific public facilities. Earlier Supreme Court decisions ruled that those laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause.
“The case would be of great significance,” says Charles Thompson, attorney for Montgomery County, Md. “Essentially, in terms of planning and financing a public waste disposal facility, you need to have sufficient flow to maintain it as a financially sound facility.”
The case originated in Oneida and Herkimer counties in central New York, where an association of waste haulers challenged those counties’ flow control laws. The haulers complained the laws prevented them from using cheaper facilities out of state. “In expending the costs to build those facilities, cities and counties plan to dispose of certain amounts of waste there,” says Thompson, a member of the National Association of County Civil Attorneys. “The project will be unsuccessful if the flow does not allow for that amount of waste to be disposed of there.”
Global warming is at the heart of a case that will determine if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate certain automobile emissions. A National Conference of State Legislatures’ article says that some states, like California and Massachusetts, favor the restrictions, while others in the Midwest oppose the new regulations.
Byers says the decision could have financial implications for counties. “In our latest unfunded mandates study, environmental mandates are the ones that cost counties the most,” she says. Thompson adds, the decision “would help with global warming issues and also create a better quality of life.”
The author is the Washington correspondent for American City & County.
