AGREEMENT FOR DECLARATION OF UNITARY STATUS

Updated - August 16, 2005

The "Agreement for Declaration of Unitary Status" is a legal document signed in April 2003 by the Fulton County Board of Education and named plaintiffs (representing African American children attending or eligible to attend school in Fulton County , and their parents and guardians).   This agreement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court in June 2003, settled the long-running Hightower v. West school desegregation case and declares that the Fulton County School System (FCSS) has attained "unitary status."

By declaring Fulton to have unitary status, the courts affirmed that FCSS is a school system in which the segregative practices of the former dual system are no longer evident and no longer affect current operations.  

Court declarations of unitary status have been taking place in school districts throughout the nation, including Georgia - Savannah-Chatham in 1994, Coffee County in 1995, DeKalb County in 1996 and Muscogee County in 1997.

In Fulton, unitary status means we are no longer under court-ordered desegregation that had been in place since 1970. In addition, FCS is responsible for carrying out a number of tasks detailed in the agreement, including the following.

1. Phase out the M-to-M (majority-to-minority) student transfer program by 2011-12
2. Establish an M-to-M Alternative Task Force to develop non-binding recommendations to present to the Board on cost-effective, race neutral alternatives to M-to-M that would enable students living in south county to attend school in north county
3. Continue to comply with federal employment discrimination laws
4. Make a "good faith effort" to provide faculty diversity in each school, within the bounds of the law and to the extent feasible
5. For at least three years beginning in 2003-04, conduct an annual proportionality analysis for each school of advanced placement and foreign language courses offered and the enrollment in such courses, and enrollment in TAG (talented and gifted) programs
6. Notify parents and students about the opportunity to take AP and foreign language courses, and to participate in TAG programs, and train teachers, counselors and administrators on this notification
7. Maintain the current curriculum hardship transfers policy at least through 2005-06
8. Establish a Discipline Review Committee to review and analyze FCS discipline policies and practices for fairness and equity, and present its finding to the Board
9. Publish on the district web site and make available in all FCS schools the annual proportionality analyses (#5 above) and the Discipline Review Committee findings (#8 above).

For more information about specific components of Unitary Status in Fulton, click on the links below.

Settlement Background Information

Agreement for Declaration of Unitary Status

(document approved by district court, April 9, 2003)

Phase-out of M-to-M Program

M-to-M Alternative Task Force

Annual Proportionality Analyses, 2003-04

Annual Proportionality Analyses, 2004-05

Annual Proportionality Analyses, 2005-06

Discipline Review Committee