A plan to only grant Little Rock partial control of its schools is drawing complaints that the district may further segregate 62 years after nine black students were escorted into an all-white Central High School.
Arkansas has been in control of the 23,000-student district since January 2015, and a plan approved by the state Board of Education would return limited control of some schools to a local board that will be elected next year. While many details of the plan remain unclear, it has prompted comparisons by opponents to the 1957 crisis over Little Rock Central's integration.
Opponents argue the move will in effect create two districts along racial lines, while supporters say it will return local control but still provide some state support.
