The argument of this book is that differences in educational opportunity are largely due to the wealth of the tax base in the local community, that the quality of a child's educational opportunity is related to the particular community in which his parents' economic capacity enables him to reside. It is argued that such economic differences deny the citizens of a state the equal protection of the laws in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and that the Equal Protection clause can be used to compel the states to provide equal educational opportunities. It is suggested that Supreme Court cases dealing with "equality"--school desegregation, reapportionment, and indigent defendent cases--can be used as precedents to challenge inequality in education. These issues are examined in separate chapters in the book. (KG)