In the 1969 case Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education the court forced the immediate desegregation of all public schools.

[8] The reaction of White parents across the south was to establish a new system of all-White private schools, yet with continued government funding.

[17][14][18][3] In 1971, a group of African-Americans filed suit against the state, naming Claiborne and 9 other segregation academies.

[19] The complaint centered on the states provision of free textbooks and bus transportation to segregated schools that excluded Blacks.

[21][9] Claiborne academy was one of the defendants in the case Brumfield v Dodd, which prohibited private schools that discriminated against African-Americans from maintaining tax-exempt status with the IRS.

[9] As a result of Brumfield v Dodd, private schools which wish to receive state funding were required to be certified each year.