Double Standard

"I will not allow my children to be bused and treated like cattle," insisted Louisiana Governor John McKeithen in a speech before the state school-board association. Thousands of white parents agree--except when it comes to busing that promotes school segregation.

After surveying schools in eight Southern states, the Southern Regional Council reported this week that all-white private academies now bus 62% of their pupils an average 35 miles a day. By contrast, public schools in those states bus 50% of their pupils an average 20 miles a day. The survey noted that desegregation plans approved by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare tend to reduce busing in Southern states. Nevertheless, some segregated private academies encourage parents to buy and operate buses, while several Southern state legislatures are pressing for indirect subsidies for private-school busing. According to the survey, one white school--Beaufort Academy in South Carolina--has pupils who ride the bus 120 miles a day.

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