Huntsville City Schools filed for partial release from its federal court desegregation order on Friday.

It faces no opposition from the Department of Justice.

“The District has met its desegregation obligations with respect to faculty and staff, extracurricular activities,” the DOJ said in a statement released on the school district website.

The district is seeking to remove federal supervision over faculty and staff, activities and facilities.

“This is a proud and affirming moment for Huntsville City Schools,” Superintendent Clarence Sutton said. “This acknowledgment of our progress speaks volumes about our district’s commitment to student success.”

The DOJ filed a motion Friday that confirms to the judge that they are ok with the partial relief from the consent order in those specific areas.

“At this time, the United States is not aware of any ongoing concerns or allegations of racial discrimination in any of the areas in which the District seeks to be released from federal supervision,” the DOJ stated. “For these reasons, and for the reasons set forth above, the United States has concluded that the District has met its desegregation obligations with respect to faculty and staff, extracurricular activities, and facilities and does not oppose the District’s motion for a declaration of partial unitary status and release from federal supervision in these areas.”

The motion comes a couple of months after the 62nd anniversary of a lawsuit filed by parents – including Sonnie Hereford – of five Huntsville public school students seeking the right to be enrolled in schools operated by Huntsville on a nonsegregated basis. On Sept. 2, 1970, the federal court entered an order requiring “a plan for a unitary school system not based on race which meets the requirements of law,” according to a court document. Since then, the federal court has overseen and has had to approve certain operations of the system, including construction and zoning.

The release would mean the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education “has done what it said it would do in the desegregation case related to these three factors,” school board attorney Christopher Pape said earlier this year.

The motion does not affect current faculty, staff, students, activities or the district’s 10-year, $60 million capital plan. The federal judge overseeing the case approved the capital plan last September.

A partial release also would not mean the end of the case.

To resolve its desegregation case, the board must prove that it has eliminated the remnants of segregation to the extent practical and that it has complied with the court’s desegregation orders in good faith.

Partial release “would narrow the scope of the case considerably,” Pape said. Student assignments, equity access to course offerings and student discipline areas would remain under federal supervision.

Pape also said the granting of the motion “does not mean the school system is immune from all other future lawsuits.”

“It doesn’t mean the school system can’t be sued under various federal laws related to discrimination and harassment,” he said.

For more information on the desegregation efforts, visit: Motion for Release from Federal Supervision as to Staff, Facilities, & Extracurricular Activities | Huntsville City Schools