AG McDaniel Pools Deseg Data For Public Review

Fresh off the announcement last week that a deal has been struck to settle a three decades-old school desegregation lawsuit, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) announced a clearinghouse of information related to the case is available on his office’s web site.

Information regarding the proposed Pulaski County desegregation settlement and notice of a Jan. 13 fairness hearing have been posted to www.ArkansasAG.gov.

U.S. District Judge Price Marshall approved the notice for publication on Wednesday (Nov. 27). The documents include summary and long-form notices.

On Friday, Judge Marshall gave a preliminary thumbs up to the agreement, which will result in the state of Arkansas paying the Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County Special School Districts approximately $65 million a year for the next four years.

Pursuant to federal court rules, notice of a settlement, rights of members of a class and notice of a fairness hearing must be publicly issued.

Class members include the Joshua Intervenors, who are defined by the Court as “all current, past and future LRSD, PCSSD and NLRSD black students, their parents and next friends.”  They also include the Knight Intervenors, a group of certified and non-certified staff organizations and individuals employed by the school districts.

The fairness hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 13 at the Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse, Court Room 1-A, 500 W. Capitol Ave., in Little Rock. Class members may have the opportunity to present evidence and objections to the settlement at that time.

Those class members who wish to object must submit their objections in writing by Dec. 23 to: James W. McCormack, Clerk of the Court, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse, 600 W. Capitol Ave., Room A149, Little Rock AR 72201, Attn: Desegregation Case-Proposed Settlement Agreement.

Those who wish to participate in the fairness hearing must say so in their written objections, and objections not received by Dec. 23 may not be considered, McDaniel’s office said.