Washington v. Seattle School District - Significance

The ruling confirmed the ability of local school boards or government agencies to take voluntary action to remedy de facto racial segregation within their systems. De facto racial segregation is segregation that has arisen through housing and development patterns, and has not been influenced by state or judicial statutes or policies. Furthermore, by striking down a popularly accepted ballot initiative prohibiting intradistrict busing of school children to ameliorate de facto racial segregation, the Court served notice to opponents of integrative busing nationwide that racial segregation in the schools was a legitimate issue for school boards to address.