Hurricane Sandy hasn't been kind to our friends on the East Coast, but who knew its reach would include the ongoing TUSD desegregation proceedings?

The end of the negotiation process, or at least the slow crawl to the end, is coming soon — Nov. 9 is still the deadline as we last reported when U.S. District Court Judge David Bury finalized extensions requested by all parties involved — the court-appointed special master Willis Hawley, representatives from the 30+-year desegregation case's Mexican-American and African-American plaintiffs, their attorneys, TUSD and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bury issued an order yesterday, with only a few modifications because of Sandy:

Pursuant to this Court’s Order filed September 24, 2012, the Parties engaged in intense negotiations, resulting in a proposed Consent Decree that will reflect the agreement of all Parties to numerous Green and ancillary factors, with only a few areas of disagreement or objections anticipated. Therefore, it is no longer necessary for the Special Master to prepare a draft of the proposed Consent Decree and release it to the Parties by November 1, 2013. Instead the Parties plan to prepare the Consent Decree, but request they be allowed to complete the draft by November 5 because of hurricane Sandy, which has affected the east coast where the Department of Justice and the Special Master reside. The Parties have, therefore, stipulated to a slight modification of the September 24, 2012, Order, which does not affect the dates set therein. The Court finds good cause for modifying the September 24,
2012, Order.

Other than that the schedule remains the same, as well as the order that "all documents, drafts, communications and
negotiations contemplated herein related to the filing of the USP shall remain privileged and confidential and shall not be shared outside the Parties. The confidentiality provision referenced in the Court's July 13, 2012 Order (Doc. 1377) shall be extended to November 9, 2012.

You can read Bury's lastest order here:
Bury_Oct._31.pdf

So, come Friday, Nov. 9, the deseg plan will be filed with the court in English and in Spanish and simultaneously released to the public. And if the process has seemed complicated thus far, just wait until we get to the public comment period outlined in the order.