Trump officials and Louisiana put an end to another decades-old school desegregation order

By COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and Louisiana officials have lifted another decades-old school desegregation order, part of a campaign to end court mandates they describe as outdated.

A federal judge on Monday approved a joint motion from Louisiana and the U.S. Justice Department to dismiss a 1967 lawsuit in DeSoto Parish schools, a district of about 5,000 students in the state’s northwest. It’s the second such dismissal since the Justice Department began working to overturn desegregation cases it once championed.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill thanked President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday for “helping us to finally end some of these cases.”

“DeSoto Parish has its school system back,” Murrill said in a statement. “For the last 10 years, there have been no disputes among the parties, yet the consent decree remained.”

The case dates to 1967, when the Justice Department sued DeSoto Parish to end its racially segregated school system. The case resulted in a 1970 court order requiring the district to eliminate segregation and provide regular progress reports. The order was modified several times over...