Chaitanya Ayysola was misguided in her interpretation of Nebraska's return to segregation ("New school segregation law might have positive outcome," April 20).

This law is not removing artificial integration but encouraging segregation on the basis of race. Students will be leaving their neighborhoods to commute to segregated schools. Integrating schools 50 years ago did lead to a short-term increase in racial tension. However, it also allowed us to break down a state-supported apartheid education system that denied children a chance to advance because of the circumstances of their birth. A return to that system will reverse 50 years of racial progress.

On the other hand, maybe the overwhelmingly white, conservative majority who passed this law is onto something. Perhaps, in the interests of racial harmony of course, we should return to segregation in other factors of American life as well. Transportation, housing and even sports teams could be improved by the complete separation of the races.

Or maybe we can acknowledge that we have moved past that ugly time in our history, that we are a better country for having many different cultures, races and perspectives and that segregation will never be a solution.