Today in History - April 27: Supreme Court rules Omaha Public Schools guilty of segregation

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - On this day in 1976, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision affecting Omaha Public Schools.

The high court ruled OPS was guilty of segregating K-through-12 schools.

Between 1974 and 1976, the government took the district to court over the issue.

Back then, the U.S. Department of Education argued African Americans were not allowed to move into white neighborhoods.

Since Omaha only had neighborhood schools, Black students naturally pooled into those buildings.

A circuit court ordered the district come up with an integration plan that largely involved busing.

Around that time, “white flight” took over north Omaha, with hundreds of people moving west.

Enrollment of white students in the district dropped off, and African American students were encouraged to travel to predominantly white schools.

By the 1990s, OPS adopted an open enrollment policy based on income rather than race.

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