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DOCUMENTS
Stanley Plan
1956
The Stanley Plan was the legislative heart of Virginia’s policy of Massive Resistance to school desegregation in the 1950s. Passed by the General Assembly in 1956 under the leadership of Governor Thomas B. Stanley and dominated by the Byrd Organization, it was crafted not only to preserve racial segregation in public schools but also to shield local officials from the consequences of defying federal law. The plan’s core strategy was to interpose the state government—especially the governor and General Assembly—between local school districts and the federal judiciary. It was believed that federal courts would be less willing to fine or jail state officials than local ones, thus protecting school district employees from federal contempt charges and enabling continued resistance.
A central aim of the Stanley Plan was to preserve racially segregated schools by controlling how students were assigned to them. To achieve this, authority over pupil placement was taken away from local school boards and transferred to a new state-level Pupil Placement Board, composed of three members appointed by the governor. This board assigned students not only based on race but also using vague and subjective criteria such as sociological, psychological, and “intangible social scientific factors”—all intended to reinforce existing racial and class divisions.
Appealing a school assignment under this system was intentionally burdensome. Parents or students were required to first appeal directly to the governor and exhaust all state court options before they could even begin to seek relief in federal courts. This process was deliberately structured to delay federal intervention.
The design of the Stanley Plan also strategically shifted legal responsibility away from local officials and onto the state’s highest political figures—the governor and the General Assembly. The rationale was that local school officials, fearful of federal court penalties like fines or imprisonment, would be unwilling to defy desegregation orders. By contrast, it was assumed that federal courts would hesitate to sanction state-level political leaders, thus enabling Virginia to effectively “interpose” itself between its citizens and the federal government in resistance to school desegregation.
The legislation required that any school which integrated (voluntarily or not) must be immediately and automatically closed.
— Stanley Plan
The elements of the Stanley plan, as enacted, were:
Pupil assignment to maintain racially segregated schools — Pupil assignment was no longer a local matter under the new legislation. Pupil assignment was now under the authority of a state-level three-member pupil assignment board, whose members were appointed by the governor.The state board made assignments on the basis of race as well as a wide range of other factors, including “sociological, psychological, and like intangible social scientific factors as will prevent, as nearly as possible, a condition of socio-economic class consciousness among pupils.” Appeals of pupil assignment were made directly to the governor. Students and their parents were required to appeal the governor’s decision through the state courts before seeking to move the appeal to the federal courts.
Automatic closure of public schools which racially integrate — The legislation required that any school which integrated (voluntarily or not) must be immediately and automatically closed. However, the governor was given the discretion to take over integrated school(s) and reopen the school(s) on a segregated basis rather than close the entire district. Integrated schools did not have to stay closed, however. A school district could petition the governor to take over one or more schools (or the entire district) that had closed and reopen them as segregated schools. Whether exercising his discretion or acting on a petition from the school district, the governor was authorized to act only as an agent of the Assembly. The governor was also required to try to persuade the African American child to return to his or her racially segregated school, so that the schools could reopen on a segregated basis.
State reassignment and reopening of public schools — If the governor was unsuccessful in persuading African American children to return to their racially segregated school(s), the governor was authorized to reassign the student to a racially segregated all-black school. At any time, however, a school district could request that the governor stop administering the local public schools. However, if the schools reopened on an integrated basis, all state funding would be cut off. (This constituted the local option.)
Funding cut-off — The cut-off of state funding occurred if a school district exercised the local option. The governor had no discretion in this area; the Virginia constitution required that the state operate “efficient” public schools, and the legislature had defined “efficient” to mean segregated schools. The funds cut-off was automatic, not discretionary.However, funds could be cut off only to integrated elementary or secondary schools or the entire school district (as warranted).
Tuition grants — School districts were required to offer tuition grants to all students in closed schools. Where schools were integrated, the school district was also required to offer a tuition grant to any pupil who objected to being educated in an integrated school.(The amount of the grant was unclear. One bill passed in the final hours of the special session limited the grant to $350 a semester, while another required the grant to be the average amount each school district spent per pupil.) Funds for the tuition grants were to come from any withheld state school funds, as well local funds.(Oddly, there was no restriction on the use of the grants, other than that they be used for nonsectarian education. This meant a tuition grant could be used to attend an integrated school.)