The Nation - News from Dec. 29, 1988

After 15 years of court-ordered busing that triggered violent opposition and white flight, Boston has approved a school assignment plan of its own in hopes of salvaging the troubled public school system. The plan, devised by consultants to the city School Department and endorsed in principle by the School Committee, would allow parents to shop around for a school closer to home, reducing the long bus rides many students now endure. The plan would split the system into three zones of 14,000 pupils each, with parents permitted to choose any school within their zone provided it did not upset the school’s racial balance. A lottery would be held for schools that were oversubscribed. The plan must still win the approval of the state Board of Education, which is expected.