Should Districts Continue Busing Children?

   In 1999, decades after Swann vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the South Carolina school district was ruled to be no longer segregated. The plan enacted by John Finger, involving busing and other integration methods, was no longer enforceable by the court. The result? The years of busing, gerrymandering of attendance zones, and all the progress these programs had made were reversed. This applies not only to South Carolina but to the rest of the country as well; 40% of African American students go to schools with 90% black demographics.
   There are still instances of voluntary busing programs, including METCO in Boston, which have shown to benefit minorities. They are more likely to graduate and perform better. However, as seen by previous attempts, the implementation of these methods is not very clear cut. Those that are transported to more affluent schools can be isolated and face hostility. Other options include funneling more funds into predominantly black communities and creating schools that would be on par to those in white communities. Doing so, however, would require immense time and resources.
   While we have programs such as affirmative action and busing, are, for all intents and purposes, meant to be temporary fixes. Delaying what needs to be done does not reduce the costs of academic inequality, which goes beyond the monetary funding lacked by majority-black schools and communities. It is undeniable that segregation still exists. While busing is not the solution, phasing it out only worsens the problem. Unless we make considerable and consistent efforts to move forward minorities will continue to be put at a significant disadvantage.
    It can be argued that segregation is an intrinsic part of American history and culture, but that should not prevent us from trying. America has already progressed significantly since its beginning, managing to abolish slavery in a society once driven by it. Tactics such as busing are only as effective as the time they remain in practice. Busing should continue while we still try to implement other methods to prevent further decay of integration.

Sources:
https://time.com/5673555/busing-school-segregation/
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/06/496411024/why-busing-didnt-end-school-segregation
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/nyregion/school-segregation-new-york.html