SPEAKER: Michael A. REBELL, Professor of Law and Educational Practice, Teachers College, Columbia University and Adjunct Professor Columbia Law School
On May 17, 1954, judges sitting on the US Supreme Court declared by unanimous vote that racial discrimination in public schools is a violation of students’ rights to an equal educational opportunity under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. As the 2019 school year ends, however, kids enrolled in public schools in cities, north and south, are predominantly black, Hispanic, and Asian while kids enrolled in public schools in suburbs are predominantly white. Brown v. The Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision, is still the law of the land. So, as the title of this EPIC/SPS Talk both asks and exclaims, What Happened to Brown’s Vision of Equal Educational Opportunity and How Can We Get Back on Course?
Michael Rebell knows what happened and is well qualified to speak first about the history of Brown that began in the early 1970’s when state courts picked up the mantle from federal courts and began litigation to increase and equalize taxpayer funding for schools between school districts within a state. Can money for schools attended predominantly by students from poverty backgrounds and students of color solve the problem? What other steps must be taken? Do the state and federal courts have an important role to play in promoting meaningful educational opportunities?
Among other important credentials you will learn about before and during his talk, Professor Rebell was Co-Council for the plaintiffs in the successful Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc a school funding lawsuit that claimed New York State was not adequately funding schools in New York City. He is also currently lead counsel in a major new law suit seeking to establish a right under the Constitution for all students to function effectively as civic participants.
Free. Reception. RSVP and info: sps.columbia.edu/community-relations
