Racial integration by school assignment has been a large part of the public school system struggle in America since the days of legal segregation.

Louisville’s public school system is part of that history.

For decades, Jefferson County Public Schools has assigned students from Louisville’s majority Black and low-income West End to schools in whiter suburbs. It’s how the district has maintained relatively integrated schools.

But now, JCPS wants families in west Louisville to have more options close to home – a choice families say they want too. This week, WFPL’s Jess Clark hosts a five-part series looking at the history and future of student assignment and racial segregation in Louisville’s schools.

On this show we talk with Clark about what her reporting discovered. JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio joins us to explain how he envisions the new plan working, and we check in with parents and community leaders about their concerns.