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PAGE 4—JANUARY, 1963—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
TEXAS
Houston’s ‘Brother-Sister’ Rule
Is Held Discriminatory by Court
AUSTIN
T he U.S. Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals declared that
Houston’s “brother-sister rule”
on pupil assignment was discrimi
natory, but did not agree with
the plaintiff’s allegation that it
“constituted a disobedience” of
the 1960 desegregation order for
the city’s public schools. (Ross
v. Rogers, SSN, November, 1962,
and previous).
The appellate court’s decision over
ruled the holding of U.S. District Judge
Ben C. Connally that the rule was per
missible. The circuit court remanded
the case to Judge Connally’s court for
“further and not inconsistent action.”
Mrs. Frank Dyer, president of the
Houston school board, said she expected
the case will be appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
“If this regulation is stricken out,”
she said, “it would permit parents to
put their children in whatever schools
they wished. If we didn’t have the
regulation, the children might all
choose to go to schools they consider
more elite. . . .”
The rule requires that all students
of a family in elementary grades must
attend the same school. Negro parents
charged it was a device to retard de
segregation. Houston ISD now is in the
third year of a grade-a-year desegre
gation, starting in the first grade, which
was put into effect by Judge Connally’s
order.
Fifty Negroes are attending six for
merly all-white elementary schools in
Houston.
The circuit court observed that “a
number of Negroes otherwise entitled
to attend a formerly all-white school
were denied admission through appli
cation of the brother-sister rule.”
It added that the system “has a
marked and frequently spectacular ef
fect of preventing individual Negro
children from enjoying the constitu
tional rights which the 1960 order in
its gradual way undertook to afford.”
★ ★ ★
Attorney General Overrules
Referendum Requirement
Attorney General Will Wilson, before
leaving office on Jan. 1, ruled uncon
stitutional the 1957 legislative act which
has impeded desegregation by requir
ing referendum approval.
The question arose when state audi
tors discovered that Benavides Inde
pendent School District, Duval County,
had admitted two Negro students last
spring to a formerly all-white ele
mentary school. This resulted from
board action, supported neither by an
election or court order. (SSN, Decem
ber.)
Dr. J. W. Edgar, state commissioner
of education, then advised the district
that its state funds would be withheld,
EDGAR
under Article 2900A, Revised Civil
Statutes of Texas, which makes loss of
state funds one penalty for desegrega
tion without voter approval in a dis
trict.
O. P. Carillo, county attorney of Du
val County, then asked Attorney Gen
eral Wilson for a ruling on the con
stitutionality of the law. Two years
ago, Wilson had issued an opinion that
the referendum law did not apply when
a district desegregated in compliance
with a court order.
The latest opinion declared the act
to be unconstitutional in its entirety.
Wilson said that the federal courts
have ruled on many questions con
cerning segregation since 1954, and that
the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,
in Boson v. Rippy, setting up provisions
for Dallas public schools to desegre
gate in September, 1961, had in effect
knocked out Texas’ referendum re
quirement.
“The (U.S.) District Court in Boson
v. Rippy, supra, expressed the opinion
that the holding of an election under
Article 2900A should not be made a
condition of a plan of desegregation,
Texas Highlights
A federal appellate court declared
that Houston’s “brother-sister” as
signment rule is discriminatory, in a
suit brought by Negro parents.
The Texas Attorney General held
unconstitutional a 1957 law requir
ing referendum approval by public
school districts before desegrega
tion, and the Texas Education
Agency continued paying state funds
to Benavides Independent School
District.
Lockhart and Del Valle school dis
tricts, in Central Texas, went ahead
with plans for January elections on
desegregation. A federal court or
dered Carrollton, in Dallas County,
to present an acceptable desegrega
tion plan during the month.
Retiring Gov. Price Daniel sub
mitted a $.3.1-billion-dollar state
budget for the next two years, in
cluding recommendation for increas
ing funds for public education to
$1,444 billion—up nearly $100 mil
lion annually.
The Executive Council of the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools will set up a
legal committee to study the effect of
federal regulation of education. This
is an outgrowth of the association’s
placing of Mississippi institutions of
higher education on “extraordinary
status.”
A survey indicated that fewer
Negroes attend the University of
Texas than generally estimated, and
that their principal complaint was
lack of social acceptance.
and eliminated from the plans for de
segregation submitted by the school
authorities those provisions which made
an election and a favorable result a
part of the plan of desegregation,”
wrote Wilson.
He then added this language from
the circuit court’s opinion in the case:
“ ‘We hold with the district court
that the holding of an election under
Article 2900A of the Revised Civil
Statutes of Texas should not be made
a condition of a plan of desegregation.
It goes without saying that recognition
and encroachment of constitutional
rights cannot be made contingent upon
the result of any election.’ ”
Wilson underlined the last sentence
quoted.
Commissioner Edgar then notified the
Benavides district that its state funds
would be forthcoming.
Rep. Don Gladden of Fort Worth an
nounced that he will ask the Texas leg
islature, meeting in January, to repeal
the law, since it contains as penalties
the loss of accreditation for the school
districts and fines up to $1,000 against
school authorities who order desegrega
tion without a favorable election.
Commissioner Edgar said—that sub
ject to being overruled by another at
torney general or the court—that he
considered Wilson’s opinion renders en
forcement of any part of the act void.
Under Survey
A committee appointed by the Re
ligious Workers Association at the Uni
versity of Texas revealed that fewer
Negroes were enrolled last spring than
generally estimated.
A report printed in The Daily Texan,
campus newspaper, said a count in the
spring of 1962 showed 135 Negroes
attending the university. Other esti
mates placed the figure at 150 to 250.
No oTcial statistics are kept, and the
association’s investigators said Negro
students themselves estimated a higher
total than the actual count showed.
Present enrollment of Negroes is esti
mated to be about equal to last year.
Donald S. Mischer and S. Thomas
Friedman wrote the report. Based on
interviews with almost all of the
known Negro students on the campus
(among more than 20,000 whites), the
investigators said 69 per cent of the
Negroes would still attend The Uni
versity of Texas—after experiencing
campus life, which retains some dis-
Waggoner Carr became attorney gen
eral on Jan. 1,1963.
It is doubtful whether the legislature
will move to wipe the law off the
books, despite Wilson’s opinion. Rep.
Gladden attempted its repeal in 1961
but never was able to move his bill
out of the House committee. Legislators
this year are not expected to take any
affirmative action to help desegrega
tion, although there is no indication
that further segregation measures will
be sought.
About 50 Texas districts have voted
to abolish segregation since 1957. More
than 20 did so this year, the largest
number since the law was passed. Most
of these are districts with small num
bers of Negroes who found difficulty
maintaining separate accredited schools
for them.
Two Central Texas districts, Lock
hart and Del Valle (Austin suburb)
went ahead with plans for desegrega
tion elections on Jan. 5 despite Wilson’s
opinion. These moves were under way
before issuance of the opinion, and
were continued in an effort to avoid
possible future legal difficulty.
Carl J. Doering, president of the
school board at Georgetown, another
Central Texas district which is involved
in a desegregation dispute (SSN, De
cember, 1962, and previous) criticized
Wilson’s opinion as “in line with today’s
political thinking. . . .”
★ ★ ★
At Dallas, U.S. District Judge Sarah
T. Hughes ordered “speedy termination
of segregation” at Carrollton Independ
ent School District. (Rainwater v.
Smith, SSN, December, 1962,, and pre
vious.)
The suit was filed Nov. 8 by a group
of Negro patrons seeking to avoid hav
ing their children carried 40 miles daily
to a segregated Negro school at Denton.
Judge Hughes ordered the Carrollton
board to present a plan of desegrega
tion by Jan. 15, and suggested that it
provide for admitting the Negro high
school students involved to the Carroll
ton High in February, 1963.
Earl Luna, attorney for the Carroll
ton ISD, said an appeal will be taken
in the case. This may delay application
of Judge Hughes’ order past the second
semester opening in February.
In The Colleges
Special Committee
To Study Federal
Regulation of Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools plans to name a committee
of lawyers to study the problems of
federal regulation of education.
This resolution was made by the Ex
ecutive Council during its December
meeting in Dallas. Announcement was
made at that time that the SACS Del
egate Assembly put Mississippi institu
tions of higher education on “extraor
dinary status” and directed that state’s
officials to refrain from any political
action against their administration.
The assembly statement was directed
at state officials, college administrators,
staff and students and was aimed at
crimination in housing, athletics and
social areas. Twenty per cent said they
would go elsewhere, and the others
were undecided.
The Negroes gave low cost as their
main reason for choosing the Uni
versity of Texas, followed by con
venience, high academic standards, and
urging of friends and relatives.
The survey showed that Negro stu
dents had a grade-point average of
1.4, exactly the same as for the stu
dent body generally.
Principal “let-downs” for Negroes at
tending the University of Texas were
said to be restrictions in social fife.
The interviewers concluded that there
was little basis for viewing Negroes at
the University of Texas as “trouble
makers” or “angry young men.” It said
the Negro student’s main problem was
to break through the “monolithic con
cept” and be treated as an individual.
WILSON
Report Reveals Fewer Negroes
Enrolled at State University
Soutbebn School News
Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education
Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by Southern
newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased
information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens
on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of
May 17, 1954, declaring compulsory segregation in the public schools unconstitu
tional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation,
but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state-by-state.
Published monthly by Southern Education Reporting Service at 1109 19th Ave.,
S., Nashville, Tennessee.
Second class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee.
OFFICERS
Bert Struby Chairman
Thomas R. Waring Vice Chairman
Reed Sarratt Executive Director
Tom Flake, Director of Publications
Jim Leeson, Director of Information and Research
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frank R. Ahlgren, Editor, The Commer
cial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
Harvie Branscomb, Chancellor, Vander
bilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala.
C. A. McKnight, Editor, Charlotte Ob
server, Charlotte, N.C.
Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nash
ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn.
Felix C. Robb, President, George Pea
body College, Nashville, Tenn.
Reed Sarratt, Executive Director, South
ern Education Reporting Service
John Seigenthaler, Editor, Nashville
Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn.
Don Shoemaker, Editor, Miami Herald,
Miami, Fla.
Bert Struby, General Manager, Macon
Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga.
Thomas R. Waring, Editor, The News
& Courier, Charleston, S.C.
Henry I. Willett, Superintendent of
Schools, Richmond, Va.
Stephen J. Wright, President, Fisk Uni
versity, Nashville, Tenn.
CORRESPONDENTS
ALABAMA
William H. McDonald, Assistant Edi
tor, Montgomery Advertiser
ARKANSAS
William T. Shelton, City Editor, Ar
kansas Gazette
DELAWARE
James E. Miller, Managing Editor,
Delaware State News, Dover
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Erwin Knoll, Staff Writer, Washing
ton Post
FLORIDA
Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami
Herald
GEORGIA
Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The Macon
News
KENTUCKY
James S. Pope Jr., Sunday Staff,
Louisville Courier-Journal
LOUISIANA
Patrick E. McCauley, Editorial
Writer, New Orleans Times-Picayune
MARYLAND
Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer,
Baltimore Sun
MISSISSIPPI
Kenneth Toler, Mississippi Bureau,
Memphis Commercial Appeal
MISSOURI
William K. Wyant Jr., Staff Writer,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
NORTH CAROLINA
Luix Overbea, Staff Writer, The
Journal-Sentinel, Winston-Salem
OKLAHOMA
Leonard Jackson, Staff Writer, Okla
homa City Oklahoman-Times
SOUTH CAROLINA
William E. Rone Jr., City Editor, The
State, Columbia
TENNESSEE
Ken Morrell, Staff Writer, Nashville
Banner
TEXAS
Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu
reau, Dallas News
VIRGINIA
Overton Jones, Associate Editor,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
WEST VIRGINIA
Thomas F. Stafford, Assistant to the
Editor, Charleston Gazette
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Single copies, any issue, 20 cents each. Ten or more copies, any one issue, 15
cents each.
One year, $2.
Groups: five or more copies to different addressees, $1.75 each per year; five
or more copies to one addressee, $1.50 each per year.
MAIL ADDRESS
P.O. Box 6156, Acklen Station, Nashville 12, Tennessee.
maintaining a proper academic atmos
phere despite the James Meredith de
segregation controversy.
The Executive Council’s other action
was aimed at reviewing the whole
field and outlook of federal participa
tion in public education. Included is
the effect of segregation on distribu
tion of funds through the National
Science Foundation and otherwise; fed
eral aid for housing in higher educa
tion; for scholarships and fellowships.
The federal government has notified
“impacted area” schools that it will not
furnish funds after September, 1963,
to educate children in segregated
schools, if the parents live on military
or other federal property. Numerous
Texas school districts face the choice
of desegregating or losing this federal
assistance, although the main “im
pacted area” schools of Texas already
have abolished racial separation.
Enforcement of the Mississippi “ex
traordinary status” decision of SACS
will be handled through the Execu
tive Council, of which Chancellor
Harry H. Ransom of The University
of Texas is the chairman for 1963.
★ ★ ★
Meanwhile, the Texas Association of
College Teachers adopted a resolution
censuring the governing board and
president for dismissing Dr. Rupert C.
Koeninger, chairman of the Depart
ment of Sociology at Sam Houston
State College, allegedly for political
activity, including attendance at pro
integration meetings.
Dr. Koeninger now teaches at Texas
Southern University in Houston.
The American Association of Uni
versity Professors is investigating the
case and will report next spring.
State Rep. Charles N. Wilson of
Trinity has announced that he will ask
the legislature in January to pass a
law requiring governing boards in
higher education to make public their
reasons for any dismissal of a faculty
member.
Governor-Elect John B. Connally,
who will take office in January, <®'
dorsed during his campaign a guarai’
tee of political rights of state colkf
faculty members.
★ ★ ★
Retiring Gov. Price Daniel 35
nounced that he will leave for C° r '
nally the appointment of three b®
members of the state teachers’ coM
board; three regents at The Univer*®
of Texas; and three at Texas
Each of these boards has nine m ett
bers, named for six-year stagg erf "
terms.
Legislative Activity
Increased Spending
For Schools Propos^
The Texas legislature was to
Jan. 8 for a 140-day session, a® ^
receive recommendations for f? re *
increased spending on education.
A budget proposed by retiring •
Daniel for two years starting SejPj^
1963, calls for expenditures to •-
$3,121,476,521.
$325,556,458 »
than the <&*
biennium. w
This
$1444^93,955 ;.
the two yf 8 ^
public
educ 3 '
it
at all levels L
COUnti r n J*l-
DANIEL
state has allocated for the
biennium.
amount
iocai
This is
206 more^f.
if
Normal increase in state o ’ £
public schools is about $30 mm a ,•
nually, because attendance n yea t^
rate of approximately 65,000 a Y jjjjl*
teaching salaries increase auto
with experience.
(See TEXAS, Page 7)
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