ABSTRACT
Among the most hard-fought and controversial educational policy issues agonizing public education in the United States over the past 60 years has been securing equal rights and equal educational opportunities for individuals and social groups. The pursuit of equality of social and educational opportunities has required sustained, sometimes aggressive action over a very long period. The struggle has involved community actions, legislative mandates, executive enforcement and, above all, persistent litigation in the courts. Nevertheless, the legacy of slavery, bigotry, and abuse of basic constitutional rights remains, to this day, deeply embedded in the American civic culture. While the predicament of African Americans has been the most visible manifestation of the nation’s failure to treat all citizens fairly, the mistreatment of other groups, and of individual students deprived of their constitutional due process and freedom of expression rights, have been just as serious if not always as clearly displayed. The courts of the United States, particularly the Supreme Court, have been playing a major role in defi ning the constitutional rights of students as individuals, and the civil rights of families and students who, because of their color, ethnicity, physical or mental limitations, or gender, have been denied educational opportunities or have experienced limited/segregated educational access.
