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Lawyers for the State of Louisana are asking a federal judge to reverse a 1976 court case that granted federal oversight to ensure school integration, claiming it interferes with the Opportunity Scholarship program.

The request is part of the ongoing lawsuit launched by the Department of Justice against Louisiana that claims that the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program has an adverse effect on school integration.

“There has been no ongoing violation of federal law in this case for nearly four decades. If the United States is unable to identify such a violation, control of private school funding should be returned to the state,” according to the request.

A moratorium on the scholarship program could affect nearly 600 low-income students who are in districts with standing desegregation orders.

On Jan. 7, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal issued a statement that expressed outrage at the continued intervention by DOJ, provocatively saying DOJ is, “more interested in skin color than education.”