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= Cisneros v. CCISD = The Corpus Christi Independent School District was accused of segregating and performing discriminatory acts towards Mexican American students. In 1970, Cisneros v. CCISD determined that Mexican Americans were an “identifiable ethnic-minority group,” and were subject to discriminatory educational practices.

Background Information
In 1954, a related case that dealt with racial discrimination in a school setting, Brown v. Board of Education, instated that any segregation in the public school system was unconstitutional. 1964 marked the year where the Civil Rights Act was made law which 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 in the Corpus Christi Independent School District.

In 1966, the children of Jose Cisneros complained to their father about their school’s run-down condition and poor sanitary conditions in their Corpus Christi, Texas school. The school that they were attending was a formerly all-black school and had been neglected sanitary care that was provided to wealthier schools. For two years, Cisneros confronted the schoolboard to take action to fix the deprived schools across Corpus Christi but with no avail. This led Cisneros to seek aid with the Civil Rights Commissioner Dr. Hector P. Garcia for support. 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 was in violation of 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 May of 1970 and Cisneros testified to prove 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 so 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 in 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 did not apply to Mexican Americans because they were not being segregated. Dr. Hector P. Garcia testified by stating that Mexican Americans have historically been discriminated against in both society and school, and 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 district. In the 1970s, despite the court ruling, CCISD did not immediately change their actions for the benefit of Mexican American students. Better relations between communities of color and white communities needed to be established for the integration of Mexican Americans into all schools. Many of the school district’s leaders were against bussing white children to school with children of color. The concept of the neighborhood school, which was enforced by the Concerned Neighbors group, 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.