HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — As Huntsville City Schools work to achieve unitary status and end judicial supervision of its schools, Huntsville’s Desegregation Advisory Committee (DAC) is working to gather information from parents and the schools to report to the court.

The committee held its last public community meeting Monday evening for the 2022-2023 school year.

DAC says they’re working on the “unfinished business” that started here 59 years ago. They also say meetings like the one held Monday evening are crucial to the success in achieving unitary status.

The committee is a group of volunteer parents in the district appointed by the court to collect feedback from parents, review the district’s data, and make recommendations to them.

During the meeting, the committee went over the consent order and the seven factors the district must address. Those include student assignment, equitable access to course offerings, extracurricular activities, faculty and staff assignment, facilities, student discipline, and transportation.

Huntsville DAC Chairman Christopher Gregory says parent involvement is critical when talking about the success of students.

“I think we need an entire community that’s articulating that same message,” Gregory said. “We can grab a specific data point and get behind that, but we need the whole community saying the same thing which is our kids are our future.”

The school district has already achieved partial unitary status in the area of transportation, and they’re currently seeking partial unitary status in the area of faculty and staff.

Gregory says once the district can demonstrate it has achieved unitary status (meaning it has met those specific demographic goals) it will no longer be under federal supervision.

Gregory tells News 19 some of its current members on the committee are moving on, and that there will be some spots open if you’re interested in being a member of the committee.

The last day to apply is Friday, April 14th.