Overview
- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 14 that federal court supervision of Concordia Parish must end after the United States, the school board and a local charter group jointly filed a stipulation seeking dismissal.
- The ruling rested on a procedural finding by the panel, with Judge Don Willett writing that once the stipulation was filed the district court lacked authority to continue hearings or oversight.
- The remaining parties to the case were the U.S. government, the Concordia Parish School Board and Delta Charter Group; the original Black families who sued in 1965 had been dismissed from the record in 2025.
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill hailed the decision as a return of control to local officials, while civil rights advocates warned that losing court supervision removes a legal tool used to enforce remedies for racial disparities in discipline, programs and hiring.
- The ruling follows a broader shift in Justice Department policy under President Trump toward supporting dismissals of old desegregation orders and could serve as a blueprint for ending other long‑running school desegregation cases.