(School system name and office address) NOTICE OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN UNDER TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

(This notice is made available to inform you about the desegregation of our schools. Keep a copy of this notice. It will answer many questions about school desegregation)

1. Desegregation Plan in Effect. The

(Name of school system) public school system is being desegregated under a plan adopted in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purpose of the desegration plan is to eliminate from our school system the racial segregation of students and all other forms of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. Your school board and the school staff will do everything they can to see to it that the rights of all students are protected and that our desegregation plan is carried out successfully.

2. Nonracial Attendance Zones. Under the desegregation plan, the school each student will attend depends on where he lives. An attendance zone has been established for each school in the system. All students in the same grade who live in the same zone will be assigned to the same school, regardless of their race, color, or national origin and regardless of which school they attend now.

3. Transfer to School in Another Zone. A student may transfer from the school to which he is assigned only under the following conditions: (State here the conditions, if any, under which transfer will be granted. They must be consistent with the transfer provisions stated in § 181.33 of the Statement

person acting as parent, of each student enrolled in this system will be sent a letter telling him the name and location of the school to which the student will be assigned for the coming school year. The letter will also give information on any school bus service provided for the student's neighborhood. A copy of this notice will be enclosed with each letter. The same letter and notice will be sent out on the above date for all children the school system expects to enter the school system for the first time next year. This includes children entering first grade or kindergarten. (Delete "or kindergarten" if not offered.) If the school system learns of a new student after the above date, it will promptly send the student's parent such a letter and a copy of this notice.

5. Maps Showing Attendance Zones.

Maps showing the boundary lines of the attendance zones of every school in the school system are freely available for inspection by the public at the Superintendent's office. Individual zone maps are available at each school.

6. Revision of Attendance Zone Boundaries.

Any revision of attendance zone boundaries will be announced by a prominent notice in a local paper at least 30 days before the change is effective.

7. All Other Aspects of Schools Desegregated.

All school-connected services, facilities, athletics, activities and programs are open to each student on a desegregated basis. A student assigned to a new school under the provisions of the desegregation plan will not be subject to any disqualification or waiting period for participation in activities and programs, including athletics, which might otherwise apply because he is a transfer student. All transportation furnished by the school system will also operate on a desegregated basis. Faculties will be desegregated, and no staff member will lose his position because of race, color, or national origin. This includes any case where less staff is needed because schools are closed or enrollment is reduced.

8. Attendance Across School System Lines. No arrangement will be made or permission granted by this school system for any students living in the community it serves to attend school in another school system, where this would tend to limit desegregation, or where the opportunity is not available to all students without regard to race, color, or national origin. No arrangement will be made or permission granted, by this school system for any students living in another school system to attend public school in this system, where this would tend to limit desegregation, or where the opportunity is

not available to all students without regard to race, color, or national origin.

9. Violations To Be Reported.

It is a violation of our desegregation plan for any school official or teacher to influence, threaten or coerce any person in connection with the exercise of any rights under this plan. It is also a violation of Federal regulations for any person to intimidate, threaten, coerce, retaliate or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with the desegregation of our school system. Any person having any knowledge of any violation of these prohibitions should report the facts immediately by mail or phone to the Equal Educational Opportunities Program, U.S. Office of Education, Washington, D.C., 20202 (telephone 202-962-0333). The name of any person reporting any violation will not be disclosed without his consent. Any other violation of the desegregation plan or other discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in the school system is also a violation of Federal requirements and should likewise be reported. Anyone with a complaint to report should first bring it to the attention of local school officials, unless he feels it would not be helpful to do so. If local officials do not correct the violation promptly, any person familiar with the facts of the violation should report them immediately to the U.S. Office of Education at the above address or phone number.

ATTACHMENT 3-TEXT FOR ANNUAL LETTER TO PARENTS FOR USE DURING 30-DAY SPRING CHOICE PERIOD (REQUIRED BY § 181.46)

(If separate schools have been maintained for other than Negro and white students, text is to be adjusted accordingly)

(School system name and office address)

(Date sent) DEAR PARENT: Our community has adopted a school desegregation plan. We will no longer have separate schools for children of different races. The desegration plan has been accepted by the U.S. Office of Education under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The plan requires every student or his parent to choose the school the student will attend in the coming school year. It does not matter which school the student is attending this year, and it does not matter whether that school was formerly a white or a Negro school. You and your child may select any school you wish.

A choice of school is required for each student. A student cannot be enrolled at any school next school year unless a choice of schools is made. This spring there will be a 30-day choice period, beginning 1966, and ending

-1

1966.

A choice form listing the available schools and grades is enclosed. This form must be filled out and returned. You may mail it in the enclosed envelope, or deliver it by hand to any school or to the address above any

time during the 30-day choice period. No one may require you to file your choice form before the end of the choice period. No preference will be given for choosing early during the choice period.

No principal, teacher or other school official is permitted to influence anyone in making a choice. No one is permitted to favor or penalize any student or other person because of a choice made. Once a choice is made, it cannot be changed except for serious hardship.

Also enclosed is an explanatory notice giving full details about the desegregation plan. It tells you how to exercise your rights under the plan, and tells you how teachers, school buses, sports and other activities are being desegregated.

Your School Board and the school staff will do everything we can to see to it that the rights of all students are protected and that our desegregation plan is carried out successfully.

Sincerely yours,

Superintendent.

ATTACHMENT 4-TEXT FOR LETTER TO PARENTS FOR USE AFTER 30-DAY SPRING CHOICE PERIOD (REQUIRED BY § 181.46)

(If separate schools have been maintained for other than Negro and white students, text is to be adjusted accordingly)

(School system name and office address)

(Date sent)

DEAR PARENT: Our community has adopted a school desegregation plan. We will no longer have separate schools for children of different races. The desegregation plan has been accepted by the U.S. Office of Education under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The plan requires every student or his parent to choose the school the student will attend in the coming school year. It does not matter which school the student might have attended before, and it does not matter whether that school was formerly a white or a Negro school. You and your child may select any school you wish.

A choice of school is required for each student. A student cannot be enrolled at any school next school year unless a choice of schools is made. A choice form listing the available schools and grades is enclosed. This form must be filled out and returned. You may mail it in the enclosed envelope, or deliver it by hand to any school or to the address above any time before ----

(Date) No one may require you to file your choice form before that date.

No principal, teacher or other school offcial is permitted to influence anyone in mak

• Insert in text a date at least 7 days after the letter is sent to parent.

ing a choice. No one is permitted to favor or penalize any student or other person because of a choice made. Once a choice is made, it cannot be changed except for serious hardship.

Also enclosed is an explanatory notice giving full details about the desegregation plan. It tells you how to exercise your rights under the plan, and tells you how teachers, school buses, sports and other activities are being desegregated.

Your school board and the school staff will do everything we can to see to it that the rights of all students are protected and that our desegregation plan is carried out successfully.

Sincerely yours,

(Name of school system) system is being desegregated under a plan adopted in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purpose of the desegregation plan is to eliminate from our school system the racial segregation of students and all other forms of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.

2. Thirty-Day Spring Choice Period. Each student or his parent, or other adult person acting as parent, is required to choose the school the student will attend next school year. The choice period will begin on 1966. 3. Explanatory Letters and School Choice Forms.

and close

----

On the first day of the choice period, an explanatory letter and this notice will be sent by first-class mail to the parent, or other adult person acting as parent, of each student then in the schools who is expected to attend school the following school year. A school choice form will be sent with each letter, together with a return envelope addressed to the Superintendent. Additional copies of the letter, this notice and the choice form are freely available to the public at any school and at the Superintendent's office. 4. Returning the Choice Forms. Parents and students, at their option, may return the completed choice forms by hand to any school or by mail to the Superintend

ent's office, at any time during the 30-day choice period. No preference will be given for choosing early during the choice period. A choice is required for each student. No assignment to a school can be made unless a choice is made first.

5. Choice Form Information.

The school choice form lists the names, locations and grades offered for each school. The reasons for any choice made are not to be stated. The form asks for the name. address and age of the student, the school and grade currently or last attended, the school chosen for the following year, the appropriate signature, and whether the form has been signed by the student or his parent. (If choice form asks for the student's race, color, or national origin, insert the following sentences: "The race, color, or national origin of the student is requested for purposes of recordkeeping required by the U.S. Office of Education. The information will not be used in any way to discriminate against the student.") Any letter or other written communication which identifies the student and the school he wishes to attend will be deemed just as valid as if submitted on the choice form supplied by the school system. The names of students and the schools they choose or are assigned to under the plan will not be made public by school officials.

6. Course and Program Information.

To guide students and parents in making a choice of school, listed below, by schools, are the courses and programs which are not given at every school in this school program.

(Here list, by schools, each course and program, such as special education, foreign languages, vocational education, science. commercial courses, and college preparatory courses offered at a particular school which is not offered at the same grade level at every other school in the system. It must include courses and programs offered in grades not yet generally reached by the desegregation plan.)

7. Signing the Choice Form.

A choice form may be signed by a parent or other adult person acting as parent. A student who has reached the age of 15 at the time of choice, or will next enter the ninth or any higher grade, may sign his own choice form. The student's choice shall be controlling unless a different choice is exercised by his parent before the end of the period during which the student exercises his choice. 8. Processing of Choices.

No choice will be denied for any reason other than overcrowding. In cases where granting all choices for any school would cause overcrowding, the students choosing the school who live closest to it will be assigned to that school. Whenever a choice is to be denied, overcrowding will be determined by a uniform standard applicable to all schools in the system.

9. Notice of Assignment, Second Choice. All students and their parents will be promptly notified in writing of their school

assignments. Should any student be denied his choice because of overcrowding he will be promptly notified and given a choice among all other schools in the system where space is available.

10. Students Moving Into the Community.

A choice of school for any student who will be new to the school system may be made during the spring 30-day choice period or at any other time before he enrolls in school. An explanatory letter, this notice and the school choice form will be given out for each new student as soon as the school system knows about the student. At least 7 days will be allowed for the return of the choice form when a choice is made after the spring 30-day choice period. A choice must be made for each student. No assignment to any school can be made unless a choice is made first.

11. Students Entering First Grade.

The parent, or other adult person acting as parent, of every child entering the first grade, or kindergarten (delete "or kindergarten" if not offered), is required to choose the school his child will attend. Choices will be made under the same free choice process used for students new to the school system in other grades, as provided in paragraph 10. 12. Priority of Late Choices.

No choice made after the end of the spring 30-day choice period may be denied for any reason other than overcrowding. In the event of overcrowding, choices made during the 30-day choice period will have first priority. Overcrowding will be determined by the standard provided for in paragraph 8. Any parent or student whose first choice is denied because of overcrowding will be given a second choice in the manner provided for in paragraph 9.

13. Tests, Health Records and Other Entrance Requirements.

Any academic tests or other procedures used in assigning students to schools, grades, classrooms, sections, courses of study, or for any other purpose, will be applied uniformly to all students without regard to race, color or national origin. No choice of school will be denied because of failure at the time of choice to provide any health record, birth certificate, or other document. The student will be tentatively assigned in accordance with the plan and the choice made, and given ample time to obtain any required document. Curriculum, credit, and promotion procedures will not be applied in such a way as to hamper freedom of choice of any student.

14. Choices Once Made Cannot be Altered. Once a choice has been submitted, it may not be changed, even though the choice pe; riod has not ended. The choice is binding for the entire school year to which it applies, except in the case of (1) compelling hardship, (2) change of residence to a place where another school is closer, (3) the availability of a school designed to fit the special needs of a physically handicapped student, (4) the availability at another school of a course of

study required by the student, which is not available at the school chosen.

15. All Other Aspects of Schools Desegregated.

All school-connected services, facilities, athletics, activities and programs are open to all on a desegregated basis. A student attending school for the first time on a desegregated basis may not be subject to any disqualification or waiting period for participation in activities and programs, including athletics, which might otherwise apply because he is a transfer student. All transportation furnished by the school system will also operate on a desegregated basis. Faculties will be desegrated, and no staff member will lose his position because of race, color or national origin. This includes any case where less staff is needed because schools are closed or enrollment is reduced.

16. Attendance Across School System Lines. No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for any students living in the community it serves to attend school in another school system, where this would tend to limit desegregation, or where the opportunity is not available to all students without regard to race, color or national origin. No arrangement will be made, or permission granted, by this school system for any students living in another school system to attend school in this system, where this would tend to limit desegregation, or where the opportunity is not available to all students without regard to race, color or national origin.

17. Violations To Be Reported.

Any

It is a violation of our desegregation plan for any school official or teacher to influence or coerce any person in the making of a choice or to threaten any person with penalties or promise favors for any choice made. It is also a violation of Federal regulations for any person to intimidate, threaten, coerce, retaliate or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with the free making of a choice of school. person having any knowledge of any violation of these prohibitions should report the facts immediately by mail or phone to the Equal Educational Opportunities Program, U.S. Office of Education, Washington, DC., 20202 (telephone 202-962-0333). The name of any person reporting any violation will not be disclosed without his consent. Any other violation of the desegregation plan or other discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in the school system is also a violation of Federal requirements, and should likewise be reported. Anyone with a complaint to report should first bring it to the attention of local school officials, unless he feels it would not be helpful to do so. If local officials do not correct the violation promptly, any person familiar with the facts of the violation should report them immediately to the U.S. Office of Education at the above address or phone number.

ATTACHMENT 6-TEXT FOR CHOICE OF SCHOOL

FORM (REQUIRED BY § 181.46)

(If separate schools have been maintained for other than Negro and white students, text is to be adjusted accordingly)

(School system name and office address)

(Date sent)

CHOICE OF SCHOOL FORM

This form is provided for you to choose the school your child will attend for the coming school year. It does not matter which school the child has been attending, and it does not matter whether the school you choose was formerly a white or a Negro school. No student can be enrolled without making a choice of school. This form must either be brought to any school or mailed to the Superintendent's office at the address above by If the student

is 15 years old by the date of choice, or will be entering the ninth or a higher grade, either the student or his parent may make the choice.

one of these grades in the coming school year, or his parent or other adult person acting as parent, may apply for transfer to any school in the school system. The application will be granted if:

(a) The student wants to take a course of study for which he is qualified, and which is not available in the school he would otherwise attend on the basis of his race, color, or national origin; or

(b) The student wants to attend the same school or attendance center as a brother, sister, or other relative living in his house. hold who is attending school there as a result of the desegregation plan, and the school offers the appropriate grade; or

(c) The student would otherwise be required to attend school in another school system on the basis of his race, color, or national origin; or

(d) The student meets the regular requirements, having nothing to do with race, color, or national origin, used by this school system in permitting students to transfer from one school to another. The regular requirements of this school system for student transfers are as follows: (here insert such requirements).

A transfer application form will be sent to each student in grades A transfer application may be filed by means of this form or by a letter. Extra copies of the form are available at all school offices. Transfer applications should be filed as soon as feasible after a student has information which justifies making an application.

In addition, all students who are entering this school system for the first time in a grade which is not generally desegregated under the plan will be assigned to a school under the procedures which will be followed when the grade is generally desegregated in the fall of 1967.

ATTACHMENT 8-TEXT FOR ANNUAL LETTER TO PARENTS FOR USE DURING 30-DAY SPRING CHOICE PERIOD (REQUIRED BY § 181.74) (If separate schools have been maintained for other than Negro and white students, text is to be adjusted accordingly)