Resources on Inequity and
Inadequacy in America's Schools
More than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education,
there remain enormous inequities and inadequacies in
the resources and funding provided to America's schools.
These inequities and inadequacies tend to favor wealthier,
suburban school districts and often prevent students
in urban areas, students from low-income backgrounds,
and students from minority backgrounds from having an
equal and meanginful educational opportunity. Here are
some resources that outline these problems.
In May 2002, Michael A. Rebell testified before United
States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions during their hearing entitled "America's
Schools: Providing Equal Opportunity or Still Separate
and Unequal." His full
testimony (PDF) provides a wealth of information
on school funding inequities and inadequacies.
Issue Area Resources:
Funding: The
Education Trust publishes a report every year
entitled “The Funding Gap.” Here is the
latest report, "The
Funding Gap: 2005" (PDF).
Teacher
Quality: The Education Trust published a
report in June 2006 on the gap in teaching quality
between higher- and lower-income districts entitled,
“Teaching
Inequality” (PDF).
Facilities:
Litigation-related Resources:
There are many cases from state courts where the court
decision lists the ways in which education funding is
inadequate.
For background on the "adequacy" movement,
read the Campaign
for Educational Equity policy paper, "Litigation
and Education Reform: The History and the Promise
of the Education Adequacy Movement" (PDF).
For a more detailed historical background on school
funding "adequacy" lawsuits, read "Education
Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts" (PDF),
by Michael Rebell.
The first major school funding "adequacy"
case is the 1989 Rose case from Kentucky.
It is the "classic" ruling citing school
funding inadequacies: Full
Text of Decision | Background
Other good sources include:
Last updated May 2007
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