Taylor v. Board of Education of City School District of New Rochelle
District Court, S.D. New York · 1961-05-31 · cited 33×
This case concerned the Board of Education of New Rochelle's intentional creation and maintenance of racial segregation at Lincoln Elementary School in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. After finding the Board had gerrymandered district lines and permitted transfers for white students, the court evaluated the Board's proposed desegregation plan allowing transfers to other schools subject to conditions such as available seats, class-size limits, and academic recommendations. The court rejected those restrictions as inconsistent with full compliance and instead ordered a modified plan that permitted transfers for all Lincoln students without academic or emotional-adjustment requirements, assigned students to equivalent grades, and retained court jurisdiction to ensure implementation. The core reasoning was that deliberate constitutional violations require remedies that prioritize vindication of rights over administrative preferences, drawing on Brown v. Board of Education.