Public Education Equal Protection

Equal Protection and Public Education Essay

Equal protection in public education occurs simultaneously with the protection of people’s civil rights, including the students; thus, it is applied in the assignment of students to specific schools for racial balance (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015). The main objective of equal rights protection is to ensure that students and teachers have access to schools across and are protected against any form of discrimination. Since the equal protection clause states that no person should be denied access to schools across districts, even when they come from economically disenfranchised communities. Black students from disenfranchised backgrounds are less likely to be enrolled in rigorous science and math classes and have a higher likelihood of being suspended from school than their white peers.

Classification to Assign Students to Specific Schools for Racial Balance

Equal protection in public education was initiated to eliminate racial segregation in public schools that disadvantaged children from disenfranchised communities, especially black students in the K-12 program, to achieve racial balance (Rich, 2014). This is done through random assignments in different schools across the districts; however, schools in marginalized black communities are under-resourced, adversely affecting the students’ academic outcomes. For example, most schools with a high population of black students do not offer advanced math and science classes and have teachers who have minimal experience. Further, those who attended schools across district lines are 25% more likely to be expelled or suspended than students from other races. To achieve a balance in the race in schools, there must be effective equality in the racial distribution and allocation of resources.

Factual background on how students are classified

Black children account for 18% of preschool enrollment, and half of all preschool children who are suspended more than once a year are African American (Katz, 2013). Notably, these cases are due to the enforcement of harsher disciplinary actions compared to their peers, even as early as kindergarten (Brown, 1997). The difference in treatment of different races of students are widely distributed in learning institutions compromising the protection of every student. to attain this equality; the school has data about the student’s ethnicity and race from 2011 to 2012, more than 70% of white students attend schools that offer a full range of science and math courses while only just over half of the black students have access to similar courses. This inequality limits the ability of such students to advance into STEM programs, making it difficult for upward social mobility among students from these communities.

The legal Issues

The remedy for racial discrimination is covered through affirmative action. For example, President Obama’s administration established the Top competitive grant program that intended to award $300 million as incentives to districts that took the initiative toward closing the existing education gap among their residents. Some states and districts have used different policies to solve the problem of segregation. Equal protection for k-12 students and their classifications to achieve racial balance has different legal implications. The supreme court gave everyone a constitutional requirement of equal educational opportunity to do away with segregation in public schools (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896).

What equal protection requires

The equal protection clause requires states to give their citizens equal treatment. This means access to schools across the state and district lines and the facilitation of learning equitably. The equal protection act advocates curbing different discriminations in the law, policies, and other actions performed by the government. Different policies were invalidated since the introduction of the equal protection clause; these included racial discrimination in public schools and other institutions and racial exclusivity of the public accommodations. This clause also extends to protect the right of the immigrants, minority groups or tribes, women, and children. Thus, all black students in the K-12 should be treated in the same manner as children from different races and afforded equal learning opportunities in the future by providing advanced classes in science and math (Brown V. Board of Education, 2009).