The academic achievement gap that exists between middle class White and non-White and poor students is well-documented. As policy-makers and educational leaders in South Carolina grapple with the academic achievement gap between White and non-White students, it has become increasingly important for them to include the growing Hispanic population in their discourse. All aspects of their policies and decisions, including the development of student assignment plans, need to take into consideration the achievement gap that exists between Whites-Blacks, Whites-Hispanics and Hispanics-Black. Poor and minority students are not academically performing as well as their White cohorts; however, Hispanics are outperforming Blacks in sixth through eighth grade configured schools in South Carolina. This dynamic in academic performance adds another dimension to the debate as to how to mitigate or alleviate the achievement gap. While focusing on South Carolina, this research chronicled the historical and legal journey of Black and Hispanic students in America's schools, established their current status, substantiated the achievement gap that exists between racial subgroups and highlighted the social constructs contributing to these academic gaps that exist within and between each racial subgroup, outlined the ramifications the achievement gap has on these subgroups and society, and analyzed and synthesized future options allowed by "Parents v. Seattle" that could serve as a model for educational leaders, researchers and policy-makers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]