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Judge Declares Jacksonville Schools Partially Unitary

education schools
arkansas.gov

A federal judge has granted Jacksonville North Pulaski School District partial unitary status and says it has made good faith efforts toward becoming fully unitary.

U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall said Tuesday he will declare the district fully unitary, or desegregated, after it constructs two new elementary schools and replaces two older ones. Marshall said the district must submit yearly progress reports, beginning next July, until it completes the facilities plan.

He also said the district should push for more incentives for black teachers to get certification.

Jacksonville separated from Pulaski County Special School District in 2016 and is one of four districts in a decades-long desegregation lawsuit involving Little Rock-area schools.

The Little Rock and North Little Rock school districts have been declared unitary, but PCSSD has not.

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