Education Law Center

Newsletter | May 2014

Brown at 60

This month marked the 60th anniversary of one of our nation's greatest moments -- the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that outlawed school segregation and declared that separate schools are inherently unequal. Unfortunately, segregation by race and poverty is "persistently and seriously increasing," according to a recent report by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA.

And recent data issued by the federal government shows that African-American and Latino children are being pushed out of schools and into juvenile lock-ups for trivial infractions with alarming frequency.

Here in Pennsylvania, schools across the Commonwealth are in a financial crisis, with high-poverty districts continuing to lay off teachers, nurses, and counselors, closing art and music programs, and increasing their class sizes. So while it's no longer legal to intentionally separate schoolchildren by race, the equal opportunity promise of Brown v. Board is still a long way off -- making our work at the Education Law Center more important than ever.

We must recognize the importance of the Brown decision -- and not forget its meaning. We must also recognize what has not been accomplished, and what work remains in the struggle for equity.

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