USATODAY.com - Race is still part of equation for equal education: "Since the court's last affirmative action case ? permitting limited preferences at the University of Michigan Law School ? the author of that 5-4 decision, Sandra Day O'Connor, has left the court, replaced by Justice Samuel Alito, who appears far more leery of affirmative action.

The Louisville case illustrates the dilemma that educators and the justices face. School officials in Jefferson County, which includes the greater Louisville area, created a complex integration plan that starts in the elementary grades, when students are assigned to one of a 'cluster' of schools serving their neighborhood. The clusters are chosen to maintain racial balance. The goal is to have at least 15% minority students in every school but no more than 50%."