In 1954, the Supreme Court delivered the landmark decision of "Brown v. Board of Education"--establishing the right to attend a desegregated school as a national constitutional right--but the decision contained fundamental ambiguities. The Supreme Court has never offered a clear definition of what desegregation means or laid out a…

The U.S. federal government has played a growing role in setting nationwide education policy since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965. This Act, along with the 'Equality of Educational Opportunity' report commissioned by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, led the U.S. Office of Education to pursue a policy agenda…

Congress's role in defining and promoting equality of educational opportunity has evolved over the past 55 years since "Brown v. Board of Education." Most recently, all three branches of the federal government have focused more on equality of educational opportunity for "individual" students rather than for protected classes.…

This paper discusses the importance of equity and quality education in K-12 schools and how employing equity and quality strategies in classroom instructional practices and school culture can positively change children's lives. Educational achievement is a matter of the home, school, and community working in concert to build confidence in a…

Over the past two decades, the percentage of American students with disabilities educated in general classrooms with their nondisabled peers has risen by approximately 50%. This gradual but steady policy shift has been driven by two distinct narratives of organisational change. The social justice narrative espouses principles of equality and…

Fifty years after the release of "Equality of Educational Opportunity"--widely known as the Coleman Report--much of what James Coleman and his colleagues reported holds up well to scrutiny. It is, in fact, remarkable to read through the 700-plus pages and see how little has changed about what the empirical evidence says matters. The…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) are part of a widely heralded and visible change effort, providing a powerful force--replete with evidence, logic, money, and voice--that is changing public schooling away from locally run and state-subsidized, into a federal-state-controlled enterprise. The article begins by situating the…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) On Anniversary of "Brown Versus Board of Education," Providing True Educational Equality for All Students…

The federal government has had a long-standing commitment to ensuring access of English Learner (EL) students to a meaningful education. As early as 1968, the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA") contained provisions for supporting the education of EL students and in its 1974 landmark decision, "Lau v.…

Outlines the Elementary Secondary Education Act's positive effect on education in breaking the federal aid logjam, spotlighting the needs of children, fueling the equality movement, promoting parental and community involvement, promoting public/nonpublic cooperation, promoting the accountability movement, and strengthening the federal system.…

Achievements cited for ESEA include that it broke the log jam on federal aid to education, spotted the needs of children, fueled other movements toward equality of educational opportunity, recruited quality personnel, promoted public-nonpublic cooperation, promoted parental and community involvement, and the evaluation/accountability movement.…

Debate over the proper identification and placement of gifted children in public schools is not new. But the pressure put on public schools by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has brought advocates and opponents of gifted education into starker conflict. This presents a chance to reexamine the foundational premises of the argument in…

Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), in 1975, to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. Since the passage of Public Law 94-142, significant…

Over the past 25 years a major shift in political ideology has refocused educational politics from equality issues to issues relating to excellence, accountability, and choice. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) first passed in 1965. NCLB legislation is a continuation of the educational…

Latinos in the United States have fought hard to attain equality, especially in the field of education. "The Praeger Handbook of Latino Education in the U.S." focuses on this fight for equal educational access and represents a significant addition to American educational literature. The contributors to this volume reveal that many Latino…