Cisneros v. CCISD

Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) was a 1970 district court case which determined that Mexican Americans were an "identifiable ethnic-minority group," and were subject to discriminatory educational practices. The case involved the Corpus Christi Independent School District of Texas, accused of segregating and performing discriminatory acts towards Mexican American students.

Background

In 1954, a related case that dealt with racial discrimination in a school setting, Brown v. Board of Education, stated that any segregation in the public school system was unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. Though these laws were established, discriminatory practices were still occurring in the school system and the Corpus Christi Independent School District.

In 1966, the children of Jose Cisneros complained to their father about the run-down nature and poor sanitary conditions of their Corpus Christi, Texas school. The school they were attending was a formerly all-black school and had neglected the sanitary care provided to wealthier schools. For two years, Cisneros attempted to persuade the school board to take action to fix the deprived schools across Corpus Christi but was unsuccessful. This led Cisneros to seek aid from the Civil Rights Commissioner Héctor P. García. The local Corpus Christi chapter of the United Steel Workers of America Union provided legal aid and assistance to the twenty-three families who were the plaintiffs. Through an investigation of school lines and the separating of students from different social classes, it was revealed that CCISD violated the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act. In 1968, Cisneros and other concerned parents hired lawyer James De Anda and filed a lawsuit against CCISD for their acts of segregation and discrimination against Mexican American students.

Court case

The court hearings began in May 1970. Cisneros testified that Mexican Americans are an identifiable minority that suffered discrimination and segregation and deserve the same protection as African Americans under the rights of the Brown v. Board of Education case. Corpus Christi Independent School District was found guilty of de jure segregation, separation of race enforced by the law, and intentionally maintained a "dual school system," where lower class students were treated differently than higher class students. CCISD's actions in question included "drawing school boundaries, locating schools, assigning teachers, and controlling transfer systems in ways that ensured that Mexican Americans attended segregated schools,". The ruling of Brown v. Board of Education applied to Cisneros v. CCISD due to the segregation and discrimination that the school district was acting against Mexican American students.

The seated judge for the case, District Court Judge Woodrow Seals, stated that he was investigating five issues as determined by the case:

1. Does Brown versus the Board of Education apply to Mexican Americans?
2. If Brown applies to Mexican Americans, does it apply in the instant case?
3. Is CCISD a dual (segregated) or unitary school system?
4. If CCISD is a dual system, is the segregation de jure or de facto on a basis?
5. If CCISD is a dual system, how can a unitary system be established and maintained?".

In the court case, CCISD argued that Brown v. Board of Education did not apply to Mexican Americans because they were not being segregated. Héctor P. García testified that Mexican Americans have historically been discriminated against in society and school, especially in the Corpus Christi area. June 3, 1970, marked the day that Judge Seals declared that "Mexican American students are an identifiable, ethnic minority class sufficient to bring them within the protection of Brown v. Board of Education". The next day, June 4, 1970, Judge Seals stated that the school district was ordered to implement a new desegregation plan which would be put into effect for the 1971-1972 school years.

Outcome

In the years following the Cisneros v. CCISD ruling, there was unevenness in the majority-to-minority students in the district. There were also still issues with resolving the segregation in the neighborhood. In the 1970s, despite the court ruling, CCISD did not immediately change its actions to benefit Mexican American students. Better relations between communities of color and white communities must be established to integrate Mexican Americans into all schools. Many of the school district's leaders were against busing white children to school with children of color. The concept of the neighborhood school, which the Concerned Neighbors group enforced, was highly imposed by those against integration of schools as it ensured that students would only be able to attend schools which they lived by (White, 2017). In 1988, "74.8% of students within CCISD were minority, and 25.2% were Anglo,". The local Caller Times newspaper released an article which stated that, "schools are in danger of becoming segregated again as a result of rising Hispanic isolation... and outmoded integration plans,". After the Cisneros v. CCISD case was settled, the school district was officially declared as being "no longer divided unconstitutionally along racial lines" in 1992