The quality of education being offered by institutions of higher education is being questioned. Trends toward educational quality are evident by court cases that are cited; the issue has been school finance. The equal protection clause of the Constitution has been extended to apply to several areas through the idea of "fundamental rights." The potential right to a certain quality of education is an issue that will continue to be considered in the courts. The notion that equal protection may be translated into an argument for minimum protection is discussed. If inequality is seen as the inability to satisfy certain basic needs, then the idea of equal protection begins to appear as minimum standards to be met rather than merely as consistent application of a particular law. In some states, legislatures have already adopted statutory forms of accountability for educators and public school systems. In other instances, there is a growing movement toward taking school districts into courts in "accountability" actions. When the quality of higher education is questioned, it may be framed in such terms as to make it seem that society is questioning whether an undergraduate education is constitutional. The quality of education has implications for collective bargaining and tenure. (SW)