Achieving Educational Equity for Each and Every Child

Posted by on May 06, 2013

Still at risk, 30 years later

Reversing the Rising Tide of Inequality: Achieving Educational Equity for Each and Every Child

A new report by the Leadership Conference looks at bolstering both quality and fairness in our nation’s public education system. When the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1973 that state funding formulas for public schools based on local property taxes were not unconstitutional, students and officials in under-resourced districts resorted to state courts, where state constitutions either guaranteed a thorough education or had strong equal protection provisions. Yet despite court victories and countless hours of advocacy, organizing, and litigation, the remedy for unfair allocation of resources to schools is still incomplete. The report recommends that national policymakers hold Congressional hearings on the impact of fiscal inequity on underserved populations; dedicate a funding stream to high-poverty high schools; increase funds for the ESEA and Perkins Act programs; continue to enforce compliance with federal civil rights laws barring discrimination and inequality; aggressively enforce provisions in the ESEA that, if honored, would mitigate the worst disparities; hold states to promises made in ESEA waiver applications; and amend the U.S. Constitution to comport with international human rights law, guaranteeing an education that prepares every child for postsecondary education, a career in a field that pays a living wage, and civic participation. The report also issues recommendations for NGOs, philanthropies, and business.

http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/education-equity-report/reversing-the-rising-tide-of.html