The new plan would encourage voluntary busing to maintain the new racial proportions it sets forth.

Since 1986, voluntary busing has created far more racially mixed schools, but the citywide numbers of white students has declined to 7,080, from 9,989 in 1985-86.

Waterbury offers voluntary busing and has redistricted in the past to correct racial imbalance.

While Dr. Fitzgerald headed the Montclair schools, the district undertook a desegregation plan that included voluntary busing to specialized magnet schools.

To soften the blow of losing neighborhood schools and to spur voluntary busing, Dr. Green expanded alternative elementary school programs that had succeeded in the southeastern corner of the city under an expired five-year, $6 million Federal desegregation grant.

The success of that initial attempt by residents lead to voluntary busing between schools in the system in order to achieve better racial balance.

Judge Sand praised the school system for its role in carrying out the desegregation plan, with voluntary busing and magnet schools, that he ordered two and a half years ago.

He advocated adopting voluntary busing to keep the elementary schools integrated.

There is voluntary busing in Atlanta that allows black students to transfer into schools in white neighborhoods, and vice versa.

The report will also urge the statewide expansion of a program of voluntary busing called Project Concern, which has operated on a small scale in the Hartford area for almost 20 years.