The Stephen C. Harward Papers span the years 1949-1975, with the bulk of the material dating from 1963-1975. The collection contains approximately 300 files stemming from the activities of the Durham City School Board (North Carolina), including audit reports, budgets, financial records, agendas, external and internal evaluations, teachers' manuals, and education policy materials, as well as court and other documents related to the redistricting and desegregation of the Durham city schools. Beyond the daily workings of the Durham City School Board and the Durham city school system are also materials documenting the use of funds stemming from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which was later renamed and revised as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and materials related to concerns about student discipline and unrest during the late 1960s. The collection is divided into six series: Desegregation and Redistricting, Financial Papers, Handbooks, Legal Papers, Reports, and Subject Files.

The Desegregation and Redistricting Series collects materials related to the different attempts to desegregate the Durham city schools in response to court mandates. It documents the legal struggle deriving from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund suits of 1959 and 1960, the latter of which continued through the 1970s in response to the outcomes of other suits, particularly (1968) and (1969), both of which demanded the abandonment of "freedom-of-choice" integration plans in favor of geographical zoning plans, and (1971). Following the latter, the Durham City School Board was given a mandate by the court in 1975 to eliminate racially identifiable schools in the district, using any means necessary to ensure that the balance of black to white students at any school varied no less than 10% from the overall racial balance of the school group. Along with the legal papers, the series documents the move to desegregate the Durham city schools with memos and internal school board documents, clippings, correspondence from parents, maps, proposals (in both draft and completed form), and a printed booklet about desegregation. It also deals with the related attempts to merge the city and county school districts into a single unit, finally accomplished in 1992. The Financial Papers Series houses budgets, financial statements, accounting materials, and other papers documenting the financial workings of the Durham city schools and school board. Those interested in these finances should also consult the extensive audit reports in the Reports Series. The Handbooks Series documents educational and administrative practices and concerns of the time with teachers' manuals and handbooks, student and administrative handbooks, policy statements, school directories, and bound print materials on educational topics. The small Legal Papers Series contains the legal files not related to the desegregation suits, including court papers, bills passed, and easements on school properties. The Reports Series collects audit reports, external and internal evaluations of schools and school programs, and results of studies and surveys. These documents contain detailed information related to the ESEA funds and their usage (in the audit reports and several narrative evaluations). Finally, the Subject Files Series contains topical files documenting different projects, programs, initiatives, and issues addressed by the Durham City School Board. It also documents the regular functioning of the school board in the extensive files of meeting minutes, agendas, and information bulletins.