Civil Rights- Education

Education in the United States has drastically changed for the better since the Brown V. Board court decision. However, to this day, some students in parts of the U.S. are still not getting the education they deserve. The Brown V. Board act was passed to make clear that “separate and unequal” is unconstitutional, yet today there exist communities that are more separated by race and class than ever before. We are still far from giving equal education opportunity to everybody, especially for people of color or disability. WIth the government slowly backing away from the public education system, we are heavily relying on individual communities to step up and work hard to improve public schools. As of now, low-income, highly-vulnerable, and high-need students fill up the majority of public schools. These schools are not equipped with the proper tools to offer equal opportunities to their high-income peers.

Studies have shown that diversity is extremely important and has shown to boost student’s empathy and reduce bias. One reason why we as a country have so many issues with racism is that it starts when we first step foot in unequal classrooms. Working to fix this will not only improve the ongoing issue of racism, but it will also help to create more equal opportunities for people of color. The lack of funding and effort to fix the inequality in the education system plays a role in perpetuating the poverty cycle. This is an issue that has going on for decades that affects the whole country economically, socially, and in many other ways. There is now a new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that is giving the country more hope in the improvement of our education system. When it comes down to it, it is all of our responsibility that students in need have access to the support and education they deserve by law because it affects us all in different ways.


https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/education-remains-civil-rights-issue-time/