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While the Civil Rights era made tremendous strides in fighting for equality, could segregation still plague our public schools five decades later?

In April, a federal judge found that a Mississippi school district was "flagrantly" violating a desegregation court order. The Walthall County school district has been ordered to change its attendance policies, as reported by . Unfortunately, this report is not the first to appear about a southern school in the throes of resegregation accusations.

Is segregation returning to our public education system? Perhaps it is time to look at the policies surrounding our schools to find out.

A Brief History

The history of government involvement in desegregation only goes back about half a century. In 1954, the case resulted in the Supreme Court's decision that "racially segregated schools" were "inherently unequal." The following year, the Court outlined a plan for racial desegregation, with orders for segregated schools to make the appropriate changes "with all deliberate speed."

However, some schools did not make the necessary adjustments expeditiously, and in 1969, the Court came out with another ruling to push the desegregation process along. Alexander vs. Holmes County Board led to the Court requiring schools to desegregate right away and operate only as "unitary" schools in the future.

Today's Problem

Since the Alexander vs. Holmes County Board decision, schools have worked toward desegregation

In a country as diverse as the United States, where nearly is not English, public schools have embraced the linguistic challenge presented by immigrant students. A rising number of public schools are gaining recognition for their outstanding efforts in working with immigrant students and non-English speaking learners. In fact, according to The Statesman, ELL students across the nation have made significant gains on standardized tests over the past three years.

The ELL Concern

The English Language Learner (ELL) population in the United States has grown significantly in the last several decades. While only 9 percent of students in 1979 reportedly spoke a non-English language at home, as of 2007, 20 percent of students claimed to speak a non-English language at home.

By law, public schools are mandated to provide the appropriate language and academic support for English Language Learners (ELLs), but some school districts have failed dismally in judging test scores.

Subsequently, the U.S. Education Department Office for Civil Rights began investigating school districts accused of not meeting the rights of their immigrant students. Specifically, the Education Department is looking into California’s Los Angeles Unified School District, as only 3 percent of its ELLs have achieved a “proficient” score on their high school math and English tests. Due to this low success rate, leaders seek to “determine whether those students are being denied a fair education.”

This video looks at the marginalized nature of the ELL

In an age of perfect SAT scores, 4.5 GPAs, and the most competitive college admissions in history, some students are gaining an edge by obtaining their associate's degree before their high school diploma!

Many "underage" students opting to take college courses are enrolled in "early college high schools," Other public schools nationwide provide students with dual enrollment programs that help them earn their associate's degree during high school.

Doubling the Degrees

As a brainchild of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the "early college high school" trend is growing. Since 2002, more than 200 schools across 24 states and in Washington DC have been designated as early college campuses, according to the . Specifically designed to cultivate the academic achievement of all students across socioeconomic, cultural, and language barriers, these high schools have helped many students obtain their associate's degree or earn credit towards their bachelor's degree – all while enrolled in high school. Better yet, students from these high schools make all this college credit tuition-free.

While most assume that only the "brightest and best" high school students can earn college degrees while in high school, this is not the case. In fact, according to , "Programs that allow students to earn college credit while in high school sound as if they have been designed for the smartest, most

While campus violence and bullying have been heated topics in recent years, the wake of a young teen's suicide, allegedly prompted by aggressive bullies, is forcing community members to reexamine the responsibility of schools in the fight against bullies.

Should Schools Pay the Price for Bullying?

In the most recent high school tragedy, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince sadly ended her own life after nine teenagers allegedly harassed and bullied the young girl. According to , District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel has filed charges against the nine alleged bullies, further asserting that Phoebe Prince endured three months of extreme bullying under the awareness of some school leaders. According to Scheibel, “The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff, and administrators of the high school also were alerted to the harassment of Phoebe Prince before her death.”

This video describes how parents of bullies may be liable.

In fact, supporting these claims are reports from Phoebe’s mother, as well as fellow students, who reported obvious struggles endured by the teen. For example, Phoebe’s mother was so concerned about her daughter’s depression at school that she contacted school officials on multiple occasions, asking about whether or not students were making threats and attacks against her daughter. Furthermore, some students reported seeing Phoebe crying in the hallway outside her classroom, as well as crying in the nurse's office on the day she took her life.

However, many argue