Chapter 21: School A or School B?: The Nexus between Race and School Choice

Brown v. Board of Education I (1954) sought to address the American political apartheid that created racial division within public schools and the larger society. The landmark ruling, in effect, mandated “separate but equal” as unconstitutional while de jure segregation and its vestiges continued. A year later in 1955, Brown v. Board of Education II then ruled that desegregation needed to occur with “all deliberate speed.” These federally regulated policies were met with resistance and hesitation by many southern states. Some southern states, however, complied with the desegregation mandate and implemented “freedom of choice plans.” The choice plans provided parents with the opportunity to select or choose a school for their children to attend. The ruling of Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968) outlawed freedom of choice plans because they perpetuated racial segregation and discrimination.