Jefferson County anti-busing lawsuit growing

The Jefferson County Public School system’s ill-advised school bus plan, which has wrecked havoc on No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top school accountability, is being challenged in court.

Now, the Courier-Journal reports more parents are joining the lawsuit, which argues that state law gives children the right to attend their nearest school.

Jefferson County Schools argue the law does not apply because it only pertains to separate school districts that merge. However, the base law dates back to 1942, and I suspect the huge Jefferson County system of today was created by a merger of older, separate school districts after 1942.

So, this one will be interesting to watch.

And, regardless of what happens with this suit, the problem of Jefferson County being able to subvert both state and federal school accountability laws simply by changing busing plans each year remains as a serious challenge. The Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Board of Education have yet to get a handle on that.