9th Circuit again bars racial tiebreaker in Seattle schools

A federal appeals court panel has again rejected use of race as a tiebreaker in assigning students to Seattle schools, holding that the practice violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection. Tuesday's 2-1 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could send the convoluted legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. The district suspended the practice in 2002. Mark Green, the attorney for the Seattle school district, said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the three-judge panel's ruling to the full 9th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. [more]