Minnesota Supreme Court: Segregation must be intentional to be illegal

(St. Paul, MN) -- The Minnesota Supreme Court says segregation in schools in the Twin Cities does not violate state law unless it's intentional.  

Parents had filed a lawsuit asking the court to rule that racial and socio-economic segregation in schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul violated the state constitution's Education Clause.  The justices instead ruled that the existence of racial imbalances in schools is not proof that those imbalances lead to poor educational outcomes for some students.  

Chief Justice Natalie Hudson disagreed with the ruling, saying the state's "ugly heritage of segregation" is alive and still affects people of color in Minnesota.