LITTLE ROCK — An appeals court has ordered the dismissal of a 2010 lawsuit challenging the Arkansas school choice law because the Legislature has since changed the statute.
The 8th U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Thursday ordered a lower court dismiss a suit filed by parents who wanted to move their white children from the Malvern School District to Magnet Cove.
As the suit progressed, a federal judge threw out the old law. The appeals court ruled that the lawsuit became moot when the Legislature passed a new law.
The new measure removes race as the factor governing transfer decisions.
The judge tossed the earlier law on grounds it was unconstitutional for Arkansas to use race as the only factor in determining whether students are allowed to transfer.