ABSTRACT
Minimum competency testing has been the subject of debate for many years. Almost every educational institution has taken a stand–legislatures, state and local agencies, principals, teachers and their unions, parents, even, occasionally, students. Other factions in society have also expressed their views: liberals, conservatives, minorities, industry, labor, and academia. The decisions on educational malpractice–there have been only four or five in the whole country–concern a school's responsibility to educate its students. This issue has obvious implications for minimum competency. To follow the implications, however, shall have to examine the legal background of these suits and take a close look at how the judges framed their opinions. When constitutional issues do arise in competency testing, it will most likely be in the context of discrimination. The landmark case in educational discrimination is Brown v. Board of Education, which in 1954 required nationwide desegregation of public schools.
