Presents an overview of the original "Brown" decision and the complex body of case law that has evolved from it. Reviews the "compensatory education" alternative, which focuses upon improving education for minority students by means other than strict numerical integration, as well as the special problems found in districts with…

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in the nation's public schools. This decision has not eliminated racial segregation, but it fundamentally altered the psychological pattern of race relations in the United States. Brown concerned a form of racial discrimination that has virtually vanished from…

In a recent series of decisions, the Supreme Court has set the standard for returning control of vital school affairs to local school officials. Discusses the legal bases school officials and their legal counsel might use in showing that their school district has attained so-called unitary status, the condition for lifting federal desegregation…

The nature of legal argument, including judicial decisions, puts severe limits on the educational advances that can be expected by Black Americans through litigation. The Brown decision, for example, has been a mixed blessing, and the Bakke case shows that the Court is unwilling to support a class-based remedy for discrimination. (KH)

Dr. Lloyd Hackley argues that first Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, then United States v. Fordice nearly 40 years later, robbed millions of African-American children and young adults of quality education. He charges that the focus of legislation has been to integrate school buildings not society. (Author/MSE)

Three landmark Supreme Court cases concerning affirmative action and racial discrimination within higher education institutions, and their interrelationships, are discussed: Hopwood vs. the State of Texas; Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978); and Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). Treatment of the legal issues by the Center…

Since 1970 approximately half of the states have challenged the constitutionality of state educational funding methods under equal protection or educational adequacy grounds. A review of court cases finds no clear trend towards acceptance or rejection of state provisions for school financing but does reveal a heightened awareness of inequity in…

This paper offers administrators, teachers, and school boards an introduction to legal issues surrounding teacher dismissal and school desegregation and summarizes a study of all teacher dismissal cases heard from 1970 through 1981 in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Most of the report is devoted to an overview of the historical development of…

The 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision laid the basis for dismantling "de jure" racial segregation of schools. "Brown" represented a significant shift in the national attitude toward blacks and was an important advance in intergroup relations. However, in the last decade the proportion of black students…

The 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision laid the basis for dismantling de jure racial segregation of schools and resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the number of schools in which black students composed 90 to 100 percent of the enrollment between 1968 and 1980. "Brown" represented a significant shift in the national…

Effects of Brown vs. Board of Education, the 1954 case in which the Supreme Court outlawed "separate but equal" education, are examined. Selected events in the history since the decision are chronicled, and trends in high school and college graduation rates for black students are charted. Educators discuss their own experiences of…

Outlines class activities to help students understand how the U.S. Supreme Court reaches its decisions and how the decisions change over time. Includes objectives, resources, issues and questions, procedures, and evaluations. Suggests that students will learn the facts and issues of important civil rights cases and form opinions on the decisions.…

Describes the facts and legal basis of federal court decisions in "Zelman v. Simmons-Harris," a case before the U.S. Supreme Court to determine if Cleveland's school voucher program violates the Establish Clause. Discusses the possible educational, legal, and political consequences of the Court's decision. (On June 27, 2002, the Supreme…

Until recently the federal courts (Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka) and Congressional action (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972) have spurred efforts to bring race and sex equity to the schools. (LC)

Two addresses presented at a conference of top administrators of traditionally black colleges are presented. In "The Clarion Call: Imperatives for the Pursuit of Excellence," Robert J. Albright discusses urgent issues in the survival and strengthening of historically black institutions. The paper begins by examining the significance of…