This handbook was written for those residents of St. Louis who would like to involve themselves in the social, political, and public education tasks which are central to the desegregation process. Section I presents a factual summary of events in the school desegregation case beginning with the filing of the initial suit in February of 1972. Section II offers an analysis of the current status of the school desegregation process in St. Louis. It is drafted from a perspective which views the desegregation process as a complex social, political and legal phenonmenon with profound and far-reaching effects. Section III outlines the components and workings of a community-based process through which the Court can pursue formulation of a court-ordered plan should it so choose. The final section of this report addresses itself to the process of plan implementation. Drawing on the lessons learned in other cities, general tenets of conflict resolution, and familiarity with the St. Louis community, the essential components of a comprehensive strategy for implementation of a court-ordered plan are presented. (Author/RLV)