A federal court ordered the Cleveland School District in Mississippi to consolidate its majority black secondary schools with historically white schools, ending a five-decade legal battle.

U.S. District Judge Debra Brown also ordered the parties to submit a timeline to implement the plan that would ensure the immediate end of the school district’s dual system.

The district, which has about 3,700 students, must consolidate its virtually all-black middle school with its historically white middle school, and its virtually all-black high school with its historically white high school. The May 13 ruling also orders the district to review its educational programs and develop new ones for the consolidated schools, address staffing needs and perform maintenance and facility upgrades.

The court rejected as unconstitutional two alternatives proposed by the school district. It agreed with the U.S. Justice Department that consolidation was the only way to achieve integration.

“Six decades after the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education declared that ‘separate but equal has no place’ in public schools, this decision serves as a reminder to districts that delaying desegregation obligations is both unacceptable and unconstitutional,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This victory creates new opportunities for the children of Cleveland to learn, play and thrive together. The court’s ruling will result in the immediate and effective desegregation of the district’s middle school and high school program for the first time in the district’s more than century-long history.” The Clarion-Ledger, May 17