During a Wednesday appearance on Huntsville radio WVNN's "The Yaffee Program" with guest host Apryl Marie Fogel, Republican Alabama attorney general candidate Katherine Robertson discussed her recent Washington Post op-ed that takes on long-standing desegregation orders in Alabama.
Robertson, chief counsel to Attorney General Steve Marshall, highlighted the fiscal and operational impacts of dated desegregation orders in place throughout the state.
"What courts once deemed necessary in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education to meaningfully give minority students equal protection under the law now requires hundreds of Alabama's public schools to consider and document race in all aspects of school functions. The goal? Attaining an elusive 'unitary status' designation that all vestiges of government-mandated segregation have been cured. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be wasted in the process," Robertson wrote in her op-ed.
"As a practical matter, this mandated discrimination hurts students," she continued. "Watered-down gifted programs force high-achieving students to compete for placements based on their appearance, rather than their talents or work ethic. Students suffer, too, when teachers are hired because they check the right racial box rather than for their ability to teach. If students who prevent others from learning by disrupting class are not disciplined, the ones who are well behaved pay the price. It is hard to believe that federal judges could find this acceptable in 2026. The high court has stated clearly that 'racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional,' particularly when preferences based on skin color have 'no end … in sight.'"
In her interview, Robertson compared the issue to redistricting cases and highlighted hope for Alabama school districts due to recent moves by the Department of Justice.
"You've had the Trump administration, through various executive orders, really try to get rid of this poison of DEI, that was just forced during the Biden administration," she explained.
"But there's another angle here that we've seen a little action from the Trump Civil Rights Division out of DOJ, and that is the desegregation order.," Robertson added. "So very similar to redistricting states like Alabama and many deep South States have public school systems that are under federal court orders that were put in place in the 60s and 70s, demanding that the government not stand in the way of integration in public schools. And you could argue that that was a needed tool back then, but to argue that same thing in 2026 is insane."
Cases include: Hereford v. Huntsville Board of Education and Bennett v. Madison County Board of Education, which were both initiated in 1963; Stout v. Jefferson Board of Education, which was filed in 1965; and Lee v. Macon County Board of Education, which began in 1967.
Robertson said that there are an estimated 40 school systems still under these programs.
"Last year, the Justice Department dismissed a 1966 desegregation order against a Louisiana school district. The administration explained that it was righting a "historical wrong" and "freeing the local school district of federal oversight." In February, the administration dismissed an order in Tennessee, also from 1966," Robertson's op-ed explained.
"These changes are giving Alabama a historic opportunity," she wrote. "Federal courts must no longer accept the premise that Alabama is the same place that it was 60 years ago. Our expansive opportunities for school choice alone ensure that no student is confined to a school due to race, Zip code or income."
Robertson wants to take Alabama's case to the DOJ.
"My idea is that these school systems, you know, let us represent them in negotiations and see if we can't come up with a global resolution for all the school systems in our state, rather than trying to tackle them one by one, where they're footing the bill. And you know, AG representation is free if you'll let us represent you," she said, adding, "It's just something I've kind of had in the back of my mind for a long time, but you have to wait for the right moment and the right DOJ. And I think that moment is upon us."
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