The k-12 education program is an online education system that is offered to students between kindergarten and grade 12. The students are however classified using different criteria before the learning process begins. Students have been assigned to different schools to achieve racial balance, so as to ensure that children from all races gain access to and benefit from this program. According to the US Department of Education, schools that have achieved racial diversity provide undeterminable education and civic benefits by promoting cross-racial understanding and breaking down racial prejudices, biases and stereotypes, which cannot be achieved by a non-racial school (US Department of Education). This is in accordance with the equal protection principle which requires that schools have a desegregation program, especially public schools, so as to end racial and ethnic isolation of students (Brown, 1997). The equal protection principle expresses opposition towards the use of an individual’s race or ethnic classification by any governmental units and triggers strict scrutiny in the event that the government uses racial classification.
Initially, students were racially segregated in schools and this resulted in discrimination of students from other races in the US, and this only showed their confusion regarding race. The US Supreme Court held a debate over the issue of race and those in support of racial balance in schools argued that racial balance would help minimize cases of inequality and discrimination (Warren, 2006). They argued that it was illegal for the government to deny people certain benefits based on their skin color. This can be traced back to the Brown v Board of Education case of 1954, which ruled out that racial segregation was not at par with constitutional principle of equal protection (Anderson, 2005). The court declared that public schools be open to admission f all students without focusing on their races in order to achieve racial diversity. In Louisiana and Seattle, schools adopted a desegregation plan so as to ensure that minority students are not limited to schools within the district but due to popularity, certain schools were more racially diverse and thus race was used to decide which students should attend which schools, and also as a tiebreaker (Smith, 2007).
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Despite the nobility of this plan to ensure that there is racial balance in school, there have been legal attacks on this mode of classification or students using the K-12 program. This is in regards to the Brown case which was to ensure that race was not considered during admission of students into schools. By focusing on race to classify students, such schools are going against the policy of desegregation. Also, not all schools practice classification by race to achieve racial diversity. Certain schools provide a limited number of slots which students have to compete for and this excludes the white students from being considered. According to Justice Powell, such a case is used to “insulate the individual from comparison with all the other candidates for the available seats” (Anderson, 2005). This hinders the achievement of the state’s interest of racial diversity in schools and provides a platform that furthers certain stereotypes such as the fact that non-white students are favored with respect to certain stereotypes and can be a cause for racial disunity.
References
Anderson, M. J. (2005). Race as a Factor in K-12 Student Assignment Plans: Balancing the Promise of Brown with the Modern Realities of Strict Scrutiny. Vol 54, Issue 3 (961-999). Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview/vol54/iss3/6
Brown, K. D. (1997). The Implications of the Equal Protection Clause for the Mandatory Integration of Public School Students. Maurer School of Law: Indiana University. Vol 29 (999-1041). Retrieved from http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/510
Smith, A. L. (2007, August). Supreme Court Rules on Race-Based School Assignments. Tharrington Smith Attorneys at Law. Retrieved from http://tharringtonsmith.com/supreme-court-rules-on-race-based-school-assignment
US Department of Education. (N.d.). Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity and Avoid Racial Isolation in Elementary and Secondary Schools. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/programs/charter/diversityguidance.pdf
Warren, R. (2006, December). Back to the Supreme Court: Racial Balance in Schools. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://m.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p01s03-usju.html
