§7201. Findings
The Congress finds that-
(1) magnet schools are a significant part of our Nation's effort to achieve voluntary desegregation in our Nation's schools;
(2) the use of magnet schools has increased dramatically since the date of enactment of the Magnet Schools Assistance program, with approximately 1,400,000 students nationwide now attending such schools, of which more than 60 percent of the students are nonwhite;
(3) magnet schools offer a wide range of distinctive programs that have served as models for school improvement efforts;
(4) in administering the Magnet Schools Assistance program, the Federal Government has learned that-
(A) where magnet programs are implemented for only a portion of a school's student body, special efforts must be made to discourage the isolation of-
(i) magnet school students from other students in the school; and
(ii) students by racial characteristics;
(B) local educational agencies can maximize their effectiveness in achieving the purposes of the Magnet Schools Assistance program if such agencies have more flexibility in the administration of such program in order to serve students attending a school who are not enrolled in the magnet school program;
(C) local educational agencies must be creative in designing magnet schools for students at all academic levels, so that school districts do not skim off only the highest achieving students to attend the magnet schools;
(D) consistent with desegregation guidelines, local educational agencies must seek to enable participation in magnet school programs by students who reside in the neighborhoods where the programs operate; and
(E) in order to ensure that magnet schools are sustained after Federal funding ends, the Federal Government must assist school districts to improve their capacity to continue to operate magnet schools at a high level of performance; and
(5) it is in the best interest of the Federal Government to-
(A) continue the Federal Government's support of school districts implementing court-ordered desegregation plans and school districts seeking to foster meaningful interaction among students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, beginning at the earliest stage of such students' education;
(B) ensure that all students have equitable access to quality education that will prepare such students to function well in a culturally diverse, technologically oriented, and highly competitive, global community; and
(C) maximize the ability of local educational agencies to plan, develop, implement and continue effective and innovative magnet schools that contribute to State and local systemic reform.
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