Book follows children on the bus

The history of civil rights in the U.S. has been tied to transportation in a unique way. School buses helped cross color lines when courts mandated desegregation of schools in the 1960s. Transit buses also played a pivotal role in civil rights battles in the South during that time.

Today, social and economic forces have continued to make racial segregation an issue in schools. According to researchers at Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project, the proportion of black students in majority-white schools stands at "a level lower than in any year since 1968."

For school transportation department heads, transporting students across district lines presents routing and scheduling challenges — but many see busing as the only solution currently available.

Ira Lit, director of Stanford University’s elementary teacher education program, has written a book that follows a group of 5-year-old kindergarteners entering a voluntary desegregation program in California. The Bus Kids: Children’s Experiences with Voluntary Desegregation, was published in February.

In a recent interview with the Boston Globe, Lit discussed his book and findings of his research.

“Busing has been an imperfect means to an important end, in Boston and other places across the country. I do firmly believe that separate schools for children from different backgrounds are inherently and inevitably unequal, and in our society we have kind of moved backwards in the degree to which we offer integrated schools for our kids. And I don't think that's to the good. My view is that our public schools are designed and intended to foster children's successful participation as citizens in a pluralistic and global society. The degree to which we're organizing school experiences for them that segregate them is problematic for that long-term goal. Now, whether busing is the right solution to that problem, I'm not sure. Is there a better solution that's five years in the making? I doubt it.”    — Ira Lit

Is there any discussion of the role of school buses in integrating schools in your district? If so, how controversial is the topic, and are parents in your area in favor of having children attend neighborhood schools?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or by sending an e-mail to info@schoolbusfleet.com

— Claire Atkinson, senior editor