A Study of Policy Implementation: Desegregation of the Dallas Independent School District

Abstract

Even though the significance of Brown v. Board of Education is recognized by almost everyone, implementing the decision has been a very difficult task. Implementation of the resulting desegregation order in Dallas has been influenced by the national response to desegregation as well as by local conditions and responses. The purpose of this study is to analyze those factors which influenced implementation. A history of the fight for public school desegregation up to, and including, the Brown decision, is given as background and to help understand why implementation was so difficult. The nationwide attempt to implement Brown is discussed because the efforts toward implementation in other parts of the nation have strongly influenced the struggle in Dallas. Such factors as the problem of poor communication, the structure and traditions of the federal courts, the reasons for individual noncompliance and the focus on secondary issues such as busing and white flight are considered on a national scale. Implementation of desegregation orders in Dallas is discussed as it relates to these national issues. Emphasis is placed on the tactic of delay as it is used to put off and avoid desegregation. The positions of Dallas school boards, public officials, administrators and the press are considered in light of various stages of the twenty-eight year struggle for desegregation of the Dallas Independent School District. The final chapter analyzes the current status of desegregation in Dallas and offers conclusions concerning how effectively the court orders for desegregation have been implemented.