1. Several years ago a child custody case revolved around the merits, or lack thereof, of integration. The custodial parent and the child were living in South Orange, New Jersey, and the child was in a school system in which approximately 40 percent of the students were African American. The noncustodial parent was living in Chatham, about eight miles away, where the proportion of African Americans in the school system was well below 10 percent. Chatham and South Orange were on average about equally wealthy, and the adult populations were similar in educational attainment.

Average and median scores on standardized achievement tests, however, were lower in South Orange. The parenting qualities of the two contending individuals were not significantly different. The noncustodial parent argued in part that the Chatham school system would be better for the child.

How would you assess the relevance of the argument? How would you decide which parent to award custody to? How, if at all, does your answer depend on the race or gender of the child (which I have not specified)?

Does it depend on the races of the contending parents? What are the public policy implications of your decision?