State Supreme Court Decides to Hear JCPS Student Assignment Case

The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case regarding Jefferson County Public Schools’ student assignment plan next Spring.An appellate court ruled earlier this year that students may attend the school closest to their homes. That doesn’t happen in JCPS, where many students travel outside their neighborhoods under the district’s diversity plan.JCPS argued that state law does not specify that students can attend their neighborhood schools, only that they can enroll in those schools, which makes the student assignment plan legal. In 2010 Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze agreed.But state Court of Appeals Judge Michael Caperton wrote that not allowing students to attend the same school where they enroll defies logic.The case will now be heard by the state Supreme Court in Frankfort next April. Each side will have 15 minutes to present their arguments. JCPS has 30 days to file a brief; then Ted Gordon, the attorney representing JCPS parents against the district, will have 30 days to file a brief of his own.A statement release by Superintendent Donna Hargens says the district is confident the state Supreme Court will side with Maze’s earlier ruling.Click here to see a copy of the motion.