Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet or the Law Magnet, formerly the School of Government, Law, & Law Enforcement, is a magnet secondary school located in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center and is within the Dallas Independent School District.

The school gives its high school students the opportunity to explore careers in law, law enforcement, and government. The school has three sections, Criminal Justice, Pre-Law and Government. Students have the option to enroll in either one.

It provides students with a range of experiential learning activities, including project-based learning in the classroom and courtroom observations, as well as meaningful internships that allow students to experience the practice of law and law enforcement in a variety of settings.

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet is the product of a landmark desegregation lawsuit initiated in the 1970s. This lawsuit, brought by Sam Tasby and others, sought to desegregate the Dallas Independent School District using the ruling from the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. This case, generally regarded as one of the most consequential in American history, declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.


The Supreme Court's ruling in the Brown v. Board case was fiercely resisted in much of the South. Dallas was no exception. The city's schools remained de facto segregated until the 1970s.

Using the precedent set by the Brown v. Board case, United States District Judge William M. Taylor ordered Dallas Independent School District (DISD) leaders to develop a plan to fully desegregate the Dallas school system. Judge Barefoot Sanders, a seasoned United States District Judge and legal counsel to President Lyndon B. Johnson, later took over Tasby's initial desegregation lawsuit. He developed a desegregation plan for the district and, in 1983, the Dallas school board agreed to implement it. Judge Sanders oversaw the slow transformation of DISD. The district remained under federal oversight until he declared it officially desegregated in 2003.

Today, the Law Magnet honors Judge Sanders' intentions and is a model of an inclusive school, where all students—regardless of background—are given an opportunity to flourish and succeed.  

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet is a Public university located in Dallas.
The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet was founded in 1977.
The current president of Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet is Garet Feimster.

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